Jak and Daxter: Fight the Power
by EcoSeeker247
Summary: Paige Smith never thought she would return to Haven City, but getting pulled into Jak 3 changes all that. How will she deal with another war against Haven, new friends, and new enemies with intentions of their own? Breaking Free Trilogy Book 2.
1. Return to Haven

All right! I know this is insanely fast, but I wanted to get the first chapter up since I had a lot of ideas for it that will lead into the next chapter. But anyway, welcome to "Jak and Daxter: Fight the Power", the sequel to "Jak and Daxter: Living in Sin"! For the most part, almost all the characters from the first book will be back, and some new characters will be introduced as well (both OC and canon). If you haven't already, I suggest you go back and read "Living in Sin" before reading this one. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this one as well! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

**WARNING: **There will be _Jak 3 _and some _Jak II _spoilers throughout this story.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Real world: One year later…<strong>_

Wow, were the bleachers crowded or what?

I could feel the afternoon sun beating down on my back as I readjusted my white tank top and checked my running shoes. Yep. Everything was good to go!

"You can do it, Paige!" I heard my sisters, Tracy and Alana, cheer from where they were sitting with my parents. Mom and Dad both waved at me and gave me the thumbs up. I gave them one in response.

"Ready for this?" my best friend, Anna, asked from next to me as four other racers from other high schools took their places next to us.

"You bet," I answered. For the last year, I had been feeling more competitive, but in a healthy way. Unfortunately, I had seen what getting _too _competitive could do to a man. That was another story for another time, though. Right now, I had to focus.

Last year, I had decided to join the track team to try and become a little more athletic. It was not easy at first, but I've been working on it.

"Racers!" my coach, Coach Taylor, announced, "On your mark! Get set! _Go_!"

And with the blow of her whistle, we were already running down the track.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I ran around the large circle, taking deep breaths if I felt like I was starting to feel a little tired. Anna ran a little bit ahead of me, and the two of us were taking the lead in the race. As I continued to sprint for the next few laps, I thought about my life ever since the craziest adventure I had ever taken part in ended.

Suddenly, one of the opposing racers caught up with me, and as I continued to think about that adventure that changed everything, I ran even faster. What would Jak and Daxter think of the new me? They had been the ones who helped me change.

To be honest, it had been hard getting readjusted to my own world. I had grown comfortable throwing out terms such as "Precursors" and "Eco", but I couldn't do that here. Oh, well. I briefly wondered if I would ever go back. I knew there were more games in the series, but maybe not.

"Paige!" Alana cried from the bleachers, and I looked up and waved at her briefly before I kept running. There was only one more lap to go!

However, as I ran around the curve, I suddenly heard a voice shout, "Out of my way!" Someone bumped into me, causing me to lose my footing and fall to the ground, therefore making me scrape my knee and wrist.

"Ouch!" I hissed, and when I looked up, one of the girls from one of the other teams was smirking as she continued to run.

From the sidelines, Coach Taylor blew her whistle. "Disqualification!" she shouted, pointing to the girl who had knocked me down in order to get past me.

"Are you all right, Paige?" Anna asked from next to me as she helped me up, but my gaze was fixed on the bitch who had done this.

"What the hell was that for?" I shouted. I hated when people just _had _to prove they were the best. I wouldn't even go into detail about where that had started.

"Your school's won too many times," the girl replied breezily, and it was disturbing how much she reminded me of…of _him_. Although I was pissed beyond words, one thing cheered me up: at least she would be punished.

"So?" I fired back, "Try harder, then!"

"All right, ladies, that's enough!" Coach Taylor chided, holding her hands out to separate us just in case we tried to fight each other. Not that this girl was worth fighting, anyway. If Jak, Ashelin, or even Keira were here…this girl wouldn't last a minute. Damn.

"Come on, Paige," Coach Taylor said to me, "Let's get you to the nurse." And with that, she led me off the field as Anna followed close by. What an end to a race!

"You okay, Paige?" Tracy asked once we were in the car later.

"I'm fine," I assured them, "I'm lucky I didn't break any bones. It's just a couple of scrapes. Nothing that can't heal."

"That's the spirit," Dad cheered from the driver's seat, "And don't feel bad. That other girl was disqualified and everyone will get another chance to race."

"I hope so," I replied, "I want to try again."

"Are you still sleeping over at Anna's tonight?" Mom asked.

"Yeah," I confirmed, facing my sisters, "Which reminds me: can I borrow _Jak 3_? I told Anna a little bit about the _Jak and Daxter _series and she wants to see one of the games."

I watched as my sisters considered it for a minute. They were surprised I was now showing interest in the _Jak and Daxter _games. In fact, I seemed to be more into the series than they were, which shocked me, too.

"We guess you can," Alana decided, "We're going to play through _Jak X_, anyway."

"Great!" I cried, "This is going to be great!" A year ago, I would have never really wanted to go to sleepovers, but again, _Jak II _had changed that.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later on that day…<strong>_

"You made it!" Anna cried as she hugged me and guided me into her house, "How are you feeling?"

I stared down at my bandages and sighed. "Better," I told her, "They still sting, though."

"Good thing the bitch was disqualified, huh?"

"Yeah," I agreed, "I can't believe she pushed me like that! That sounds like something Erol would do." Crap! That was the first time I had spoken his name out loud in a while.

"Who's Erol?" Anna asked with a confused look on her face.

"He's a character from _Jak II,_" I explained, "He's got a similar personality to that girl from today, only much worse."

Anna chuckled. "You sound like you know him personally," she teased, which made me blush. I realized how strange I sounded. Yes, I had known him personally, but she didn't need to know that. Nobody did.

"I figured him out from the game," I said quickly, "Though speaking of games…" I trailed off and reached for _Jak 3_.

"I brought this over," I added, "I haven't played it yet, but we could do it here."

"Nice!" Anna shouted, "I'm not one to play videogames, but I'm really excited about this one!"

"Me too! I'm going to set it up!"

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be right back!" And with that, she was out of the room.

While she was gone, I decided to start setting up her Playstation 2, inserting my memory card and controller into their respective slots and popping the game into the console. After we played through a little bit of the game, we were going to meet up with some of our other friends. That was bound to be exciting.

Just as I was waiting for the first signs of the game to begin, however, I began to feel strange. _Wait a minute, _I thought, _Am I being pulled back into the game? This strange sensation feels familiar. _

And with that, I felt everything fade to black around me before I could think of anything else.

* * *

><p>Just like the last time, when I had gotten pulled into <em>Jak II<em>, I felt myself wake up after a while, but this time, I wasn't in Haven Forest. Instead, I was in the middle of a dark alley. _Where am I? _I thought as I stood up and looked around.

In front of me, I could see sunlight, so I decided to use that as a guide. Once I was out of my waking spot, I finally stepped out in the light…and received the biggest shock of my life.

_Holy crap! _I thought, _Is this Haven City? _

Tall, futuristic-looking buildings surrounded me on all sides, and planted trees and paved sidewalks were everywhere as well. This definitely wasn't the Haven City I remembered. They must have done some serious rebuilding after the war. Speaking of the war, how much time had passed since then? At least, that would leave them enough time to do all this?

After deciding to explore, I began to step out into the newly paved streets, marveling at how the city appeared to be much cleaner than it had been when Baron Praxis was ruling. _That's right! _I reminded myself, _Ashelin took over! I wonder where she is now. Where are all of them? _

Just like the first time I had arrived here, I got a few stares for my short ears, but this time, I wasn't bothered. I had grown comfortable with them here despite the fact that nobody else had short ears. On the flip side, they made me easy to point out in large crowds. I sighed. It was a win-lose situation here.

Another thing I noticed that was different right away was the police force. This was no longer the Krimzon Guard; these officers were dressed in blue and yellow uniforms, and carried Vulcan Furies and other types of Eco Pistols with them. Some of them stopped to stare at my ears, while others nodded at me. Were some of these guards from the old KG?

"_Paige?_" a voice cried out of nowhere. _Wow, _I thought, _Somebody spotted me already? _

"Paige Smith, is that you?"

Bracing myself, I turned around to face none other than…

"Torn!" I gasped as the former-Underground's second-in-command shook my hand.

"I didn't know you were back in Haven!" he cried, smiling a little bit. One plus about _Jak 3 _already: Torn was much friendlier than in the previous game.

"I just got back now," I told him, "How have you been? How's Ashelin? How's everybody else?"

"We've been busy rebuilding the city," Torn explained, and I felt a little guilty for not being able to stay and help.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be around to help," I apologized.

"Yeah, where'd you run off to after the party?" the auburn-haired man asked in response, "It was like you just disappeared."

I sighed. "I went to Haven Forest for a little bit," I said, "And then…I must have just left the city for a while. I should have stayed to help rebuild." I then thought of another question.

"Torn?" I began, "How much time has passed since then?"

"Eight months," Torn answered, and I clapped my hand to my forehead.

"Damn," I cursed, "I've been gone for eight months? Sheesh, I feel like an idiot now."

At my words, Torn smirked. "Don't worry," he assured me, "I've got something for you to do to make it up." Typical Torn. Always finding ways for us to make up for something we've done, even if it was all in good fun.

"Should I run for Mountain Temple?" I joked.

"Nah. Just follow me to the Freedom HQ. The rest of us are there right now. From there, we'll give you something to do to help with rebuilding Haven."

"Sounds like it'll be a blast," I replied, then adding a few seconds later, "Freedom HQ?"

"Oh yeah," Torn remembered, "I forgot you've been gone. You won't even recognize Haven City after we're through explaining everything."

"I already don't recognize it," I told him, "Was this where the Slums used to be?"

"That's right. You catch on fast. Let's go." And with that, I followed Torn down the streets, making a few different twists and turns until we finally arrived at a tall building in the middle of it all.

"Is that the Freedom HQ?" I asked.

Torn nodded. "Just follow me."

We rode the elevator up to the main floor in silence, and in front of us, the door opened to reveal Ashelin, Jak, Daxter, Keira, and Samos all huddled around a table in the middle of the room. It was so weird, but so good to see all of them again.

Before I could say anything, Torn cleared his throat and began, "Hey, guys. Look who I found while I was patrolling the streets." He moved aside to reveal me, and as soon as the others recognized me, they stopped in their tracks.

"Hey, guys," I echoed, waving, "Long time no see."


	2. Meeting Veger

Next chapter of "Fight the Power" is here! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted the story so far! The events of _Jak 3 _should start in another chapter or so, and another thing: I've posted a poll on my profile asking whether or not I should give Paige a love interest of any sort. If you'd like to vote, just click on my profile! Thanks, and enjoy this next chapter! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

By the way, I'm going to put up what the different writing styles are now so that I don't have to keep repeating them in the future:

_Italics- _Audio Transmissions and/or Jak's POV

**Bold- **Veger's POV

**_Bold and Italics- _**Third-person POV (I don't know how often I'm going to use this, but I'm still putting it here all the same)

* * *

><p>For a minute, nobody could think of anything to say, until Daxter broke the silence. "Toots!" he cried, making everyone chuckle, "Never thought we'd see you again! Where've ya been?"<p>

"Back at home," I explained sheepishly, "I just returned here a little while ago."

"You should have told us you were coming back!" Keira cried next, "We've missed you!"

"Surprise!" I intoned, stretching my arms out as Keira moved forward to hug me, followed by Ashelin, Jak, Daxter, and Samos.

"Welcome back, Paige," Ashelin greeted, "It's good to see you haven't forgotten about us."

"Never," I assured her, "I've missed you guys, too." I hugged the Baron's daughter in return, and then I embraced Samos and Daxter, leaving Jak for last. The blond teenager was the last one to approach me, and for good reason, I supposed. Although our friendship was pretty much sealed at this point, there had been a long road of hardships before we finally respected each other enough to become more than just acquaintances. Let's just say I did some things that ended up changing his life.

"Paige," he began, clearing his throat.

"Jak," I replied, nodding, "How've you been? Still saving the world like last time?"

"Nah," Jak answered, "I'm taking it easy."

"But you're doing okay, though?"

Jak nodded, smiling a little bit. "I've been doing better," he said, "Welcome back." And with that, we hugged lightly before I broke it off.

"So," I sighed, "Rebuilding the city, huh? How can I help?"

"The Stadium was damaged on one side during the raids," Torn explained, pointing to a map, "Ashelin's going to send in some troops in a few hours to continue taking care of that. You can join her."

I nodded as well. "At least it's a way for me to help," I said, "So where do you all live now?"

"We're at the Palace," Ashelin explained, pointing to herself and Torn, "And everyone else lives in this part of the city, New Haven."

"Wow," I whispered under my breath, "How about David and Eileen? How are they?"

"They're doing well," Samos answered, "They're part of the Freedom League now. Most of us are."

"Freedom League?" I echoed. _Wow, I've been gone for a long time, _I thought to myself.

"They've replaced the KG!" Keira piped up from next to Jak, "We disbanded the Underground, and some of its old members, as well as people from the KG, are now a part of the Freedom League."

"So those were the men and women in the blue and yellow jumpsuits?" The others nodded, confirming my question.

"Just say the word and I'll be there!" I decided.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later on that day…<strong>_

"This is awesome," I muttered to myself as I approached one of the buildings across from the Freedom HQ. Ashelin had given me a key to one of the apartments, so I decided to rest what few items I had on the bed. I'd have to go food shopping once I was settled in for sure.

"_Ready to go?_" Ashelin asked from her end of the pager.

"Yeah," I replied, "Let's get going!"

And a few minutes later, I was riding next to Ashelin on her specially made Freedom League Hellcat cruiser. "So…" I began, folding my hands in my lap, "You're now running Haven City. What's that been like?" We knew all too well what her father, the late Baron Praxis, had been like, and I wondered how the people of Haven City were dealing with the fact that another Praxis was on the throne.

"Hard work," Ashelin quipped, "But worth it. This city is finally getting the renovations it deserves, especially after my father…" She sighed, and I didn't ask anything else about it. It was clear that her father was a touchy subject for her. How had she reacted when she discovered that he had been killed by Kor? Oh, Precursors, Kor. I remembered him all too well.

"Well, looks like you've been doing a good job so far," I complimented her, and we were silent for the rest of the way.

I didn't know what to make of the Stadium as we arrived there. I had so many memories of this place, both good and bad, and my mind felt cluttered. As we stepped onto part of the race track that was destroyed, I stopped for a minute and clutched my chest.

"Paige," Ashelin addressed me from my left, "Are you okay? You seem flustered."

"I'm fine," I told her, taking a few deep breaths, "I'm just…remembering." Yeah, that was it: remembering a certain redhead who had made it his goal to make my life a living hell. Mine and Jak's. I shuddered. Thank the Precursors I was _not _that girl anymore.

"Let's get started," Ashelin suggested, and we moved forward to help the rest of the Freedom League. That was something I liked about the Baron's daughter: she wasn't like other rulers who often sat back and just gave orders. No. She liked to be in on the action. She probably felt obligated to help the city, as it was partially her father who had helped to run it into the ground.

About an hour had gone by of us cleaning up the Stadium by the time we all began to move some piles of rubble out to the street. "I see all of you are hard at work right now?" a cool, aristocratic voice suddenly greeted out of nowhere. We all glanced up at the source of the voice. This must have been a character only from _Jak 3_; I had never heard this one before. I glanced over my shoulder and studied the slender, middle-aged man that was now standing next to my rubble pile. He was tall, with a suit and cape on his body and a staff in one of his hands. He was bald at the top of his head, but I could see black hair on his sides.

"Hello, Count Veger," Ashelin greeted in response in a formal voice. _Count Veger, _I thought to myself, _What an interesting name._

"Governor Praxis," the Count replied, nodding his head and shaking her hand in respect. I was intrigued by his mannerisms. He knew how to hold himself with dignity. That was when he turned to face me. I felt a little awkward as he studied me, especially my short ears, but that quickly disappeared.

"You look familiar," he began, and I briefly wondered why he wasn't showing surprise towards my ears. Better yet, how did he think I looked familiar when I'd never interacted with him until now?

"I'm Paige Smith," I introduced myself, shaking his hand after glancing at Ashelin for a second, "I was around during the war last year."

"Ahh," Veger purred, "Yes, I've heard of you, Paige Smith."

I was a little weirded out by this, but I laughed in order to brush it off. "Funny," I joked nonchalantly, "I haven't heard of you. Count Veger, you said?"

"Yes," Veger replied, "I am the Chairman of the Grand Council of Haven City." He waved his staff in the air as he said this, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"So have you come to help us?" Ashelin asked in a tense voice, and I got the feeling she didn't like him for some reason.

Veger shook his head. "I'm just here to watch over all of you," he said, "And you are doing a fantastic job."

"Thank you," we replied in unison.

"You know," Veger continued smoothly, "You ladies are taking care of business so efficiently that Baron Praxis and Erol would have been proud. It's a pity they didn't use Light Eco like I had advised them to." He sighed and shook his head. _Okay, Veger, _I thought to myself, _That just put you on my list of people to stay away from._

At the mention of Praxis and Erol, both Ashelin and I tensed up, and I found myself staring at the rubble next to the Count. "Do you really think so?" Ashelin asked in a rough voice.

"Oh, I'm sure. Keep up the good work, and it was very nice to meet you, Paige." Veger grinned before moving on.

"He was…interesting," I commented, gulping a little bit, "Is he really as important as he says he is? I've never heard of him."

"Trust me, Paige," Ashelin began as we resumed working, "You're better off not knowing too much about Count Veger."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hours later…<strong>_

Just as the sun was just starting to set, Ashelin and I finished working and drove over to the Naughty Ottsel, Daxter's bar in South Town. Ahh, the Naughty Ottsel. I remembered that place from the party at the end of the first war. I gazed at the life-size electronic figure of Daxter on the roof and thought about how different it was from when Krew owned it as the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon. _Krew, _I thought, _You bastard._

"And there they are now!" Daxter's familiar voice announced as we walked in through the front doors, "Welcome to the Naughty Ottsel!"

I laughed, took my seat at the bar, and scratched Daxter's ears for a second. "Hey, Dax," I greeted.

"What's happening, toots?" the ottsel asked, "We've been waiting for you guys all night!"

"We had to help repair the Stadium," Ashelin piped up, sitting next to Torn, her boyfriend, "We've still got a long way to go."

"Anything you need help with, we'll be there," Torn declared, allowing himself a small smile.

Tess emerged from the bar and poured more drinks for all of us. "Hey, guys," she said, and once the others were done greeting us, she looked up and gasped when she saw me.

"Paige!" she cried, "When'd you get back?"

"Hours ago," I answered, sipping some of my drink, "How've you been, Tess?"

"Pretty good," Tess said cheerfully, "The Naughty Ottsel is more popular than ever now!"

Sure enough, the usual suspects were here, but there were more than just our friends. Other people from around the city were here as well to just drink and have fun. Business was booming! _Krew should've taken a leaf out of Daxter's book, _I thought, shaking my head.

"Great!" I exclaimed, "I'm really happy for you guys." I meant it. When the Naughty Ottsel used to be the Hip Hog, all Dax had ever talked about was renovating the place, and he'd gotten his wish. Good for him!

As I drank a little bit more, I glanced around the room and spotted Kor's head on the wall in the same place as last time. _One less monster to worry about, _I thought.

"So how'd repairing the Stadium go?" Jak asked as we all sat down in the middle of the room.

"Good," I reported, "I met some guy there. Called himself Count Veger." The others just raised their eyebrows.

"You met Count Veger already?" Torn asked, shaking his head, "Oh, boy, you're definitely back in Haven City."

"He seems very…_ugh_," I replied, making a face, and the others chuckled weakly.

"That's how we all feel about him," Ashelin mused, "He thinks he's more than what he really is." I sipped some more of my drink. So he was another Erol pretty much, only in a different way.

"I hope I won't have to see him again," I said worriedly.

"Just stick with us and ya won't!" Daxter chirped, and we all drank once again.

Suddenly, the front door to the Naughty Ottsel opened again, and two more familiar voices spoke up. "Well, well, we never thought we'd see you again!" they said, and when I turned around, I spotted none other than Eileen Peterson and David Lloyd as they entered the bar and grinned at me. After Jak, Daxter, and everyone else, I considered these two to be my next best friends in Haven City, despite the rocky relationships we had at first due to the Krimzon Guard.

"Eileen!" I shouted, "David!" I jumped up from the floor, set my drink down, and went to hug both of them. They were both wearing the Freedom League uniform, so I assumed they joined a while ago while I was gone.

"Welcome back to Haven City!" David cheered, "Torn told us you were back!"

"Yeah, I just got back earlier today," I explained, "I see you two are in the Freedom League?"

"That's right!" Eileen said proudly, "We're sticking with the good side from now on."

"That's good to hear," I joked, "Precursors, it's so good to see all of you again!" Eileen and David quickly accepted drinks from Tess and sat down with us in the circle.

"Have you seen New Haven?" David asked.

"Yeah," I confirmed, "I almost didn't recognize it at first. Good job there. I helped Ashelin with the Stadium today."

"The more helping hands, the better," David commented, raising his glass into the air, "To rebuilding Haven City."

"To rebuilding Haven City!" the rest of us chanted as we clicked our glasses together.

* * *

><p>Once Daxter and Tess decided it was time to close up the Naughty Ottsel, Eileen, David, and I decided to return to New Haven for the evening. After all the hard work I had done on my first day back, I welcomed the prospect of sleeping. "We'll catch you later!" David said, waving to the two of them as we turned to leave.<p>

"Be careful out there!" Tess advised, and we nodded to let her know we heard her. It was better to travel in groups, anyway.

We were just heading towards David's Zoomer that was parked near the Naughty Ottsel when Eileen smiled at me. "I still can't believe you're back here," she said, "This is great!"

"I don't feel as confused as I did the first time," I admitted, sighing with relief, "I feel more comfortable in my own skin. And I actually know people this time around."

Now, the ex-KG spy was grinning from ear to ear. "We taught you well," she joked.

"Let's not take all the credit now," David warned in a falsely-concerned voice.

"But we can have some moments of glory."

We all shared a chuckle at that.

David was just starting the engine on his Zoomer when we suddenly heard another Zoomer approaching us. At first, we thought it was our vehicle, but we glanced over our shoulders in time to see Count Veger braking right next to us. _Oh, no, _I thought, _What does he want now? _

"Hello, Count Veger," Eileen and David greeted as politely as possible, though I could tell they were not very enthusiastic about his presence right now, either. Did _anybody _like this guy?

"Good evening," Veger greeted smoothly, smirking at the three of us.

"What are you doing out at this time?" I asked him.

"I'm just…taking a drive through the city," Veger answered cryptically.

"By the Naughty Ottsel?" I asked skeptically. _Where conveniently, Jak and I happen to be hanging out? _I thought. Earlier, while we had still been hanging out at the bar, Jak had told me all about meeting Count Veger a while back and the way the Count seemed very interested in his role during the war last year. I sighed.

"It's part of his routine," David explained to me, "Though why, I don't know. Why, Count Veger?"

"I just want to check and make sure this city's still…pure." And with that, he waved and flew off.

"Precursors," I hissed under my breath, "What was that all about?"

"He's in his own little world," Eileen said next, "Always going on about the Precursors and Light Eco, though nobody ever knows what he's talking about. Let's get out of here."

And following that rather creepy exchange with Veger, we took off towards New Haven for the rest of the night.


	3. Propositions and Another Beginning

Fast updates! Thanks again for the reviews! I've decided to do something a little different from the opening of _Jak 3, _and some of the locations (such as the library in this chapter), are figments of my imagination. With that in mind, enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two months later… <strong>_

"And…done!" Ashelin announced once her team was finished placing the last flag outside the Stadium. From where I stood, I held up a camera in my hands.

"I can't believe we're finally finished!" I cried excitedly as I snapped a few photos of the Governess posing.

"I'm so glad I was around to help out," I said to her as we began walking away.

"The more helping hands, the better," Ashelin agreed, "I should be getting back to the Freedom League now."

I nodded. "I have to get to the library anyway," I told her, "I'll see you later!" I waved at the Baron's daughter as she flew away in her cruiser, and then I took off on my own towards the Bazaar. According to Ashelin, she had given the city permission to build a library somewhere in the Bazaar, and as soon as I discovered this, I decided to get a job there to make some money for myself. So far, it was enough to buy food and some decorations for my apartment, but I hoped to make a little more for my own enjoyment. I had been working there for the two months I had been back in Haven City so far.

The library was quiet when I entered, and I immediately set my bag down and began working, reorganizing books and helping other people find what they were looking for. All the books were in Precursor writing, and I had a hard time readjusting to reading all the signs and pages, but it was slowly coming back to me.

At this time, I was in the section about Precursor History and Eco. It was one of my favorite sections to work on, ever since Jak and I watched a Precursor emerge from the Precursor Stone we had found. Ever since the Kid-Young Jak, went back in time to Sandover Village. Had it really been that long ago?

"Fascinating, isn't it?" a familiar voice asked, and when I looked up, there was Count Veger at one of the shelves next to me. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. He had been coming in here almost every other week, and it had conveniently been at times when I was working. The others had told me not to take him too seriously, but I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to stalk me, too, just like Erol had.

"I notice you've been working in this section more and more lately," Veger mused as he removed a book about Light Eco from the shelf.

"Because that's not creepy at all," I muttered sarcastically under my breath, "Do I need to call the Freedom League on you?"

Veger chuckled. "I see you haven't changed since the war," he said, "The Baron said you were outspoken."

"You should've seen me _before _the war…" I mumbled, but the Count didn't hear me, "Anyway, why are you here? In the library?"

Veger dusted off the book he had selected and held it up for me to see. "_Unlocking the Secrets of the Precursors_," he read from the front cover, "This has always been something I've taken an interest in. The Precursors and Light Eco. I've spent most of my life trying to decode their secrets."

"Any luck with that?" I asked as I put away a book about the destructive effects of Dark Eco. I saw the Count wince at the book for a second, as if it had personally offended him in some way.

"No," Veger reluctantly admitted, "And Baron Praxis and Erol wouldn't take my advice. I insisted they use Light Eco instead of Dark Eco for their experiments, but that fell through."

"Should I be playing a sad song on a violin now?" I asked sarcastically. I knew what experiments he was referring to, and I didn't want to hear anything else about them. They were a part of the old me that I didn't want to look back on. _Ever_.

Veger just smirked to himself. "Paige, Paige, Paige," he cooed, "I thought you would be a little more understanding than this." I frowned.

"What makes you think that?" I questioned.

"I've done my research on you. I know the others didn't believe you about the Metal Head Leader." I disliked Count Veger more and more the longer we talked.

"That's not how it happened," I quickly corrected him,  
>"I didn't know Kor was a Metal Head. I just knew something was wrong with him. And we were all suspicious."<p>

Veger shook his head. "Whatever," he said dismissively, "The point is, you knew something, and they doubted you. You know they did."

"And…what's your point?" I asked.

"We've both been doubted by those we are close to," he restated unnecessarily, "Will you help me discover the secret of the Precursors?"

I was floored. Help him discover the secret of the Precursors? Really? "You're kidding, right?" I asked, "I don't know about this…"

"Think about it, Paige," the Count said in an attempt to persuade me into changing my mind, "I'll be back tomorrow, at the same time." And with a wink, he left, taking _Unlocking the Secrets of the Precursors _with him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later on that day…<strong>_

"So there I was, head to head with one _nasty _spider!" Daxter was saying as he, Jak, Keira, Tess, Torn, Ashelin, Eileen, David, and I all sat around the large dinner table in the Palace and ate, "But did I give up? _No! _I knew I had to meet up with the big guy somehow!"

"Oh, _Daxter_," Tess sighed, "That sounds amazing!" The others laughed as Dax regaled all of us with an incident that took place in Mar's Tomb during the war. However, I didn't laugh or crack a smile. Instead, I just picked at my food with my fork, not in the mood for even the ottsel's sense of humor. While David roared with laughter next to me, I just sighed and rested my cheek in my hand.

"Oh, Dax," Keira teased, "You're always telling such crazy stories."

"But this one actually happened, so there!" Daxter chirped, and everyone except for me laughed again. At this, the ottsel faced me and tilted his head to the side as he grinned.

"Hey, toots!" he squealed, "What's got you all hot and bothered?"

Everyone turned to face me and I took another deep breath. "N-nothing!" I stammered, "I should probably get going."

"Not so fast, Miss Goody Two Shoes no more!" Daxter replied, stopping me as I jumped up from the table, "Why don't you tell 'em how you fought Metal Kor before we came along?"

At this, I blushed as I drank a little more of my water. I remembered that confrontation like it was yesterday, though it didn't last as long as the following fight had. "It wasn't _that _big," I insisted, but Dax wouldn't give up.

"You were Miss Tough Gal!" he complimented, "We arrived as you two were fighting with each other." I turned even more red as everyone cheered and grinned at me.

"You must have seen me get snatched up at the last minute, too," I mumbled.

"You fought pretty well," Jak added with a small smile on his face.

"Thanks," I thanked him, "I appreciate you guys trying to include me in the conversation, but I should really get going."

"Why?" Torn asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied, "I'm just a little tired from finishing the Stadium today. I think I'm going to turn in early tonight."

"You sure?" Eileen asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I assured them, "Thanks, though." And before anybody could say anything else, I was already clearing my place at the table and leaving.

I had to admit that Count Veger's offer from earlier today had been bothering me all during dinner at the Palace. I couldn't understand why I couldn't bring myself to tell the others about it. I trusted them, and they trusted me. Right?

Suddenly, I heard my communicator vibrate in my pocket. "Hello?" I asked.

"_Have you made a decision yet?_" Veger asked from the other end, and I rolled my eyes.

"I thought you were going to stalk me at the library tomorrow," I replied. _How'd he get my number, anyway? _I thought to myself.

"_I couldn't wait that long. Well?_"

"I'm not helping you, Veger," I told him, "I'm not interested in finding out the secrets of the Precursors. I just like reading about them, but that's it." No response from the other end, which gave me the leverage to continue.

"Why me, anyway?" I asked, "Why Jak? Why are you so interested in us?"

"_If you had decided to help me, you would have found out,_" Veger taunted, "_This is more important than you realize._" I sighed.

"I'd rather not know, then," I said, "Sorry, Veger, but you're on your own." And with that, I hung up on him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A few weeks later…<strong>_

"Do you see anything?" Torn asked me, Ashelin, Eileen, and David one day as we climbed up to the top of Freedom HQ and glanced around the city.

"Nothing," Ashelin reported, "Have you heard anymore reports?"

"Apparently, there was something in the Industrial Zone," Torn replied, "But they don't know what."

I sighed. Over the last few weeks, we had heard rumors that something was in the Wasteland and trying to attack Haven City, so the Freedom League was pulling double duty just in case there was another war.

"We'll keep an eye out," David assured the rest of us. Exhaling, I climbed down from my post and went to go to the library. Fortunately, Veger had stopped showing up, so maybe this meant he would finally leave me alone.

However, on my way there, I noticed something awkward: almost all the citizens were staring at me, and not in a good way. A lot of them glared at me and whispered to each other in not so subtle ways, which made me feel uncomfortable.

"That's her," one of them hissed, "She created that monster."

"Which one?" another citizen whispered, "That Dark Eco Freak who let the Metal Heads in last time?"

"That's the one. They're both dangerous. Stay away from them."

That was it. Fuming, I marched over to the citizen whispering about me and placed my hands on my hips. "You know," I began, "Funny you should mention monster, because that's not what I see. Unless you know him personally, I suggest you all shut your mouths about things you don't know."

The citizen laughed. "Of course," the woman replied snidely, "Defend your little creation. If you hadn't done that, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Correction," I retorted with a harsh chuckle, "Baron Praxis and Erol created that other side of Jak, not me. Get your facts straight before you start slamming us."

"But you gave them the Dark Eco. You're just as guilty as them and the freak. Since Praxis and Erol aren't around anymore, you're the next one in line to be responsible for that monstrosity."

"Shut up," I snapped, "Just shut up." With that, I roughly shoved past the citizens and kept walking as I continued to hear their cruel whispers. I wondered if Jak had heard any of this yet.

Sure enough, I found Jak in the Stadium section as he was sitting on a bench by himself. He had some fruit in his hands, and he looked angry with the world as well. "Jak!" I cried, waving to him and earning some nasty looks from the citizens around us.

Jak glanced up at me briefly before returning to his fruit, and I sighed as I went to go sit down next to him. I could feel everyone staring at us, but I ignored them. "What's going on?" I asked gently.

"I guess you've heard by now, huh?" the renegade responded, "Everyone's talking about us. Ever since the rumors started."

"I'm sorry, Jak," I apologized, "I know how hard it must be. I nearly got into a fight with one of the citizens after she called you a monster. I hate that so much." I remembered how scary Dark Jak could be, and I gulped for a minute, but I reminded myself that Jak wasn't like that all the time. I also briefly wondered if Keira had ever seen Dark Jak. I glanced down at my lap.

Suddenly, Jak's communicator went off. "_Jak, Paige, it's Ashelin!_" Ashelin's voice poured from the speakers, "_We need you two to get to the HQ at once_!"

"Right away!" I replied, facing Jak, "I wonder what this is all about."

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Jak deduced, "Let's get out of here."

However, as soon as we entered New Haven, we saw exactly what this was about; the streets were chaos! Many of the Freedom League soldiers were running through the streets and trying to take out little spider robots that were shooting lasers at them. "What the hell?" Jak muttered under his breath, "When did this happen?"

"A while ago!" Eileen shouted, running over to us as she reloaded her Vulcan Fury, "Remember when we were keeping watch before, Paige? Turns out something attacked us when we turned our backs for a split second! They're already causing so much destruction! Big, overwhelming armies!"

Other robots in red that strongly reminded us of the Krimzon Guard ran around as well. "AHH!" I shouted, ducking as one aimed a bomb at me. After dodging it, I felt Jak grab me by the arm, and we sprinted towards the HQ and were relieved once we made it.

"Jak, Paige, the city's divided already," Torn announced once we arrived, "Reports say new Krimzon Death Bots are holding a vital section of the industrial area! My men are getting their asses kicked! The KG have a new leader. We're trying to find out who it is."

"Shit, Torn," I cursed, "Are you serious?" He nodded silently.

Samos, who was standing quietly next to Ashelin, spoke next. "I'm afraid I've got more bad news," he added gravely, "A large group of surviving Metal Heads have concentrated in another section of the city." _No, _I thought.

"But we destroyed Kor!" Jak insisted, "How is this possible?"

"It appears the strongest Metal Heads have survived," the Green Sage answered, "The battle for the city has just begun."

"And that's not all," Ashelin piped up, "The people are blaming you, Jak. And you too, Paige." I watched as my friend fumed for a minute.

"I saved their asses last year and they still hate me?" he growled.

"They don't know what they're talking about!" I agreed.

"We know," Torn spoke up, "But we should try and solve this problem as fast as we can. We need to send more troops in. Eileen and David are already down there fighting."

"Then we have to fight, too," Jak decided, and I nodded, feeling eager to join the action. I just hoped none of us would get killed in the process.

Torn reached for two Vulcan Furies and two Blaster Guns and pushed them across the table towards us, and we snatched them up eagerly. "Let's go!" Jak cried, leading me and Daxter, who had just hopped onto his friend's shoulder, out of the room and back into the chaos. More robots tried to attack us, but Jak took care of them while I readjusted to using weapons. It had been a while since I picked up a gun, and I thanked the Precursors my parents in my world didn't know that I could shoot a gun.

The war was continuing to pick up as we continued to help the Freedom League battle whatever these enemies were. There were so many of them! There was no way we were going to be able to handle all of them. "Who could be doing this?" I asked Jak and Daxter.

"Ya got me!" Daxter shouted, "AHH!" He ducked his head again as another bomb flew at us out of nowhere.

"How could the people think we did this?" Jak asked.

"I don't know," I sighed as we reloaded and ran away from a cluster of deathbots, "That whole idea is ridiculous!"

And with that, we continued to dodge these new enemies as we wondered where the hell they were coming from. Better yet, who was doing this?

"Paige! Jak!" Eileen and David yelled over the din, and we whirled around to face them as they ran over to us.

"It's getting worse," David panted, "We're getting our asses kicked. Head for the Palace. It's probably safe there. I overheard Samos saying he was going there to get out of the fray."

"Keira…" Jak mumbled to himself in a worried tone of voice.

"I'm sure she's okay, big guy," Dax assured him in a calm voice, "Let's get to the Palace."

Despite the war-torn streets around us, we managed to make it to the Palace in one piece, where Samos was standing on the balcony on one of the top floors and staring down at the rest of Haven City. _I can't believe this, _I thought, _I haven't even been back for a long time and there's already another war._

"Samos!" I cried, waving as Samos turned around to face us.

"Thank the Precursors all of you are all right!" he said in a relieved tone of voice. We all quickly went to stand next to him as we watched the war down below.

"How the hell did this happen so fast?" I asked sadly, but before anybody could answer, we spotted Torn and Ashelin flying towards us in Ashelin's Hellcat Zoomer. "Report!" Samos requested.

Torn shook his head sadly and reported, "It's bad! The city's become a battlefield! Mechanized Death Bots have taken the industrial section, and the surviving Metal Heads have expanded their hold on the Westside. We're losing ground on all fronts."

"The Council's meeting tonight in an emergency session," Ashelin added, "Rumblings about you and Paige, Jak. It doesn't look good. They think your friendship with Krew helped the Metal Heads get into the city." Jak gripped the railing on the Palace balcony as he turned to Samos. I had already voiced my opinion on this matter and didn't think it was necessary to say it again, but I was curious to see how Jak would react.

"You don't believe that, do you?" he asked his caretaker with a hint of desperation in his voice.

The Green Sage frowned. "What's in the past is done," he replied, "Right now, Metal Heads are assaulting the Palace. They're looking for something, and I have no idea…"

_Boom! _Suddenly, an explosion rocked the entire structure of the Palace, and when we looked down, we spotted missiles flying towards the base of the Palace, which soon collided into the walls and created large balls of fire. Jak, Daxter, Samos, and I lost our footing as all the wires and towers around us began to collapse, therefore slowly bringing the building down to the ground. I screamed as I tried to get to higher ground.

"AHHH!" Daxter cried at the top of his lungs, "We're falling!" We looked up and saw Torn and Ashelin pulling up next to us with the Hellcat. Jak, Daxter, and I ran towards it, jumped, then turned around and beckoned to Samos.

"Over here!" Torn shouted, "Jump!" The Green Sage jumped, and Jak grabbed his hand and pulled him to safety just as the Palace collapsed, no doubt killing a lot of the Freedom League soldiers and citizens. _Holy shit, _I thought, _I still can't believe this is happening so quickly._

"By the Precursors!" Samos gasped, suddenly noticing something underneath the Palace. It looked like a few platforms.

"What is that?" Ashelin cried as she stared down at it as well. _Has that always been there? _I asked myself as we flew away from the chaos.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later on that night…<strong>_

**Hearing the people of Haven City blame Jak for what was happening was like music to my ears. He deserved the blame; he was a Dark Eco Freak. He didn't belong here. Not in this city of light. **

**Most of the Grand Council was already talking about banishing him, and I couldn't agree more with them. Although many people didn't know it, I really did have the best intentions for Haven City. I had my reasons for doing what I did. **

**But that was beside the point. We had to decide what we were going to do about Jak. With his…condition, he couldn't stay here. I didn't think I could deal with the Dark Eco inside him any longer. There was a long story behind that that I didn't think was necessary to get into. **

**And Paige. People were whispering about her, too, since they wanted to blame someone who was still alive. They were saying she helped to create the creature inside of Jak. I winced at the thought of her handling all that…that **_**Dark Eco **_**in the labs. **

**"Count Veger?" one of the older members of the Grand Council asked hesitantly as he opened the door to address me, "We're getting ready to start soon." **

**"Yes, thank you," I thanked him nonchalantly, and he disappeared yet again. I considered myself to be a very…persuasive person. The others would see my reasoning. There was only one thing we could do now: banish them to the Wasteland. Jak would never contaminate Haven City again, and Paige would be begging for me to let her join me on my quest. The plan was perfect. Now, it had to be put into motion, and I would be one step closer to my goals. **

**Right?**


	4. A Wastelander Welcoming

All right! Next chapter is here! Thanks again for all the support! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog. All other plot points and minor alterations to the original storyline are also mine.

* * *

><p><em>I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I waited with Paige, Daxter, and Keira in our apartment. The council was in the middle of its emergency session, and we weren't allowed to go. <em>

_"Don't worry, guys," Keira said in an attempt to calm us down, "I'm sure things will work out." But even she sounded unsure of herself. _

_"With Count Veger running everything?" I replied, "Not likely." _

_"The people here are so narrow-minded," Paige huffed, "Thank the Precursors none of you are like that." _

_Keira was just about to say something in return when somebody knocked on the door. I went to go answer it, only to find Ashelin and Samos on the other side. Their faces looked distraught, and we found we already knew the Council's verdict. _

_"We're being banished, aren't we?" I realized, and Ashelin nodded sadly, not saying a word. From behind me, Keira moved forward and began to hug me, and I returned the hug. I was numb all over. Banished. I couldn't believe it! After everything I had done for this city! _

_"When?" was all Paige could ask. _

_"Tomorrow morning," Samos reported, "We tried to stop Veger, but he wouldn't see reason." _

_"I think I'm going to be sick," she groaned, and with that, she ran out the door and back to her apartment. Ashelin and Samos soon left as well, and Daxter decided to get ready for the night, leaving me and Keira by ourselves in the living room. _

_"Jak," she sighed, "I'm sorry." _

_"It wasn't your fault," I assured her, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." _

_"I wish there was something I could do," she quipped, "I'll leave this city if I have to." _

_I shook my head. "No," I declined, "You should stay here, where it's safe for now." _

_"But you'll die out there! And then what? We need you here!" _

_As I felt my stomach sink a little bit, I raised my hand up to Keira's chin and looked into her eyes. "Keira, listen to me," I began gently, "You know I'll always come back to you." _

_At first, Keira didn't know what to say, but as she gazed at my eyes, she nodded. After that, she sighed and closed her eyes for a minute as she felt me hug her tightly. _

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next morning…<strong>_

I could barely sleep during the night.

By now, the news had spread to all our friends, and I heard more knocking on my front door. "Paige?" Eileen and David asked cautiously, "Can we come in?"

"Go away," I moaned, pulling the sheets over my head.

"Come on!" David cried, and I finally willed myself to get out of bed. When I opened the door, there they were with a tray of breakfast in their hands.

"You guys made me breakfast?" I asked, feeling touched by their kind gesture, as well as bad for snapping at them.

"Of course," Eileen said, setting it in front of me as I rubbed some sleep out of my eyes, "We had to find a way to cheer you up. Veger is such a bastard. I can't believe he's banishing you guys!"

"Me neither," I grumbled, "This is so wrong!" I sighed as I picked up the breakfast sandwich that was on one of the plates.

"Thanks for doing this for me, guys," I thanked them, "I'm…really going to miss you when I go away."

And with that, I set the tray aside and hugged the two of them as tightly as I could, and no matter how strong I tried to be for them, I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face.

Later on, Jak, Ashelin, Veger, two Freedom League guards, Daxter, Pecker, and I headed towards one of the Freedom League transports in the Port. In the process, the guards slapped handcuffs on both me and Jak. "Good morning, Paige. Jak," Veger greeted smoothly, smirking at me as I glared at him.

"Go to hell," I hissed, which made him laugh. From next to me, Jak growled slightly as a little bit of Dark Eco crackled all around him. We all climbed into the transport as the driver selected the Wasteland as the destination. From where I sat, I could see something glowing in Ashelin's hands, but I was too depressed and angry to ask her what it was.

Nobody said anything for the whole ride, not even Daxter and Pecker, despite the fact that they were two of the most talkative characters in the games. The whole time, Jak stared down at his lap, and Veger read a book that he was carrying. I peeked at the cover and noticed it wasn't _Unlocking the Secrets of the Precursors._

"This is so wrong…" Jak muttered to himself, and I sighed. He was right. This _was _wrong, and we would get to the bottom of this once and for all.

It occurred to me that I had never really been to the Wasteland. However, I was not excited to come here; we were being banished.

After hours of flying, we finally felt the transport land, and the door to our right opened as the guards forced us up from the seats. One of them led Jak out into the desert while the other prodded me with his pistol. I glared at him as we stepped out onto the sand. I immediately felt the heat all around me. How did Jak stand it in his heavy clothing?

"By order of the Grand Council of Haven City," Veger began, opening his book and holding it down to protect it from the wind and the sand, "For heinous acts and crimes against the people, you two are hereby banished to the Wasteland for life." He slammed his book shut.

"This is a death sentence, Veger!" Ashelin protested, "There must be another way!"

"Your protest was overruled," Veger sneered, "This Dark Eco Freak and his creator are dangerous! Now, drop the cargo!"

"You sure you don't want to reconsider?" I asked in a rough voice.

"The same as you didn't, _Paige_," Veger responded, and Jak glanced at me in confusion.

"This is an outrage!" Pecker squawked from the transport, "I am outraged beyond words! Although I do have something to say! Not everyone agrees with this ridiculous _arrk_! Decree..."

"Yeah!" Daxter agreed, "We want a recount!"

"Oh," Veger began slyly, "I see you wish to join them."

"Actually, we are not that outraged," Pecker amended, "Farewell, Jak! Paige! Stay out of the sun…drink lots of water…if you can find it."

"Gee, thanks, Pecker," I snarled.

"Jak?" Daxter asked cautiously.

"Go back to the city, Dax," Jak said to him. Ashelin shook her head and approached us.

"I'm sorry," she apologized shamefully, "The Council is too powerful. There was nothing I-"

"It's okay," Jak whispered to her as she unhandcuffed us and pressed the glowing object into Jak's palm.

"You two just stay alive, you hear me?" she commanded, "That's an order! Someone will find you. I promise."

"Thanks, Ashelin," I thanked her, "At least you're on our side with all this." She nodded and then headed back to the transport, where the others were getting situated. Veger stood on the edge, waving his staff at us.

"May the Precursors have mercy on you!" he petitioned.

"Fuck you!" I cursed at him as he waved again and closed the hatch to the transport. In a cloud of sand, they flew away, leaving me and Jak on our own.

"Now what?" I croaked at him, but coughing noises suddenly grabbed our attention.

"Daxter!" Jak gasped, and sure enough, both Daxter and Pecker were lying on the sand as they coughed it out of their mouths.

"Pecker!" I cried next.

"Don't thank me!" Daxter retorted, "I'm only here because you wouldn't last a second without me! Okay tough guy, you got us into this mess, now ya gotta get us out!"

"Ahh, what a team we'll make!" Pecker cheered, rubbing his wings together.

"Just as long as we survive," I said to the moncaw, "I don't care how we do it."

"Let's just get moving," Jak decided, placing a hand on one of his hips and looking around, "But which way?"

"That way!" both Daxter and Pecker shouted, pointing in opposite directions, and I face-palmed myself.

"Oh, and I suppose you know where you're going, eh?" Onin's interpreter said to Daxter.

"Better than you do, bent beak!" the ottsel snapped.

"Can't you two ever get along?" I groaned, "We're trying to stay alive here."

"Ugh," Jak moaned, "Let's just move. Come on, guys." And with that, he began to walk away with us following behind him.

"Do you guys think we'll find anything out here?" I asked.

"I hope so," Jak answered, "It's still morning. It's not too hot yet. We need to find some shade."

I covered my eyes and looked around. There were no signs of shade. Yet.

"What was Count Vulgar talking about before, toots?" Daxter asked from next to Jak, "What did he want you to reconsider?"

I had to laugh to myself at Daxter purposely getting Veger's name wrong, but I lied, "Nothing important. He just asked me to be a part of the Grand Council." Jak sighed and wiped his forehead. Temperatures were starting to climb now.

We continued to walk through the desert for hours, and as the morning continued, the sun rose higher in the air, and the winds picked up. We were hungry and exhausted by now. We had marched before, but now, we were staggering. The heat was too much. I didn't think I could take it anymore. The old me definitely wouldn't have lasted a minute out here.

"Jak," I choked, "How…how are you holding up?"

Jak couldn't even answer as he struggled to keep his eyes open. I, too, was fighting against the sand flying into my eyes.

"This…" Pecker began, "Was all your stupid idea!" He pointed at a lethargic Daxter as he said this.

"No, it was yours," Dax insisted, poking Pecker's nose, "Only a birdbrain could have thought this one up. Let's go with them... we'll help together... you mean we'll die together! I can't believe the city hates us... we saved those lowlifes!"

"I know," I said, "But we'll have to make the best of our situation." I dry-coughed as I said this. Water. I craved water right now.

Jak looked deep in thought, and I knew he was thinking about yesterday's invasion. Too fast.

"This isn't fair!" Daxter whined, "Not one little _bit_!"

A little while later, I glanced down at my arms and noticed that the skin was starting to turn red. We were getting sunburned, and possibly sun poisoned as well. Next to me, Jak took a deep breath and collapsed to the ground. "No, Jak," I croaked, "We have to keep going. We can't…stop…now…" Soon, I found myself falling next to him and closing my eyes. I struggled to keep them open.

"Right," Daxter wheezed, "Good plan, guys... A nap would be nice... Just a teensy little rest..." He fainted as he planted his face into the sand.

"Ugh," Pecker groaned, "This bird is overcooked!" He couldn't fly anymore, and I watched as he collapsed next to Dax.

Jak coughed, spitting some sand out of his mouth. He looked terrible. "The Palace," he mumbled in a low voice as he closed his eyes, too.

I wasn't sure how long we were laying there. It had to be hours, and I was surprised we weren't dead by now. Even the Wasteland didn't want us to die yet, it seemed. Ha.

The winds changed, and by now, only Jak and I were still remotely alert. Out of nowhere, I could have sworn I heard voices, but I was sure it was the desert and my imagination playing tricks on me. We hadn't had anything to eat or drink all day. My stomach rumbled loudly, and I glanced over at Jak as he clutched his stomach as well. "Jak," I said to him, tasting some sand in my mouth, "Do you hear voices?"

He struggled to face me. "Barely," he whispered, and I sighed. At least I wasn't losing my mind.

I flipped onto my side and watched as figures emerged out of nowhere and approached us. Were they good or bad? We had no way of knowing, and we were too weak to defend ourselves. We didn't have our guns, and there was no way Jak could change into Dark Jak in his condition.

"Looks like we found some lives ones," one of the men announced to his comrades in a raspy voice. He took the stick he was holding and prodded Jak with it. The latter opened his eyes and moaned.

"Heh. Barely," the man with white dreadlocks added a second later, widening his eyes when Jak's hand unclenched itself to reveal the beacon Ashelin had given him.

"Here's the beacon we were picking up." He roughly grabbed Jak by the shoulders and lifted him into the air.

"Who gave you this?" he demanded, shaking the teen a little bit. From where I was situated, I tried to answer instead, but my throat was dry.

"A-Ash…" I began, but didn't finish.

"We'll take them with us," the same man decided, and I realized he was the unofficial leader of the group, "Let's move! I smell a storm coming!"

"Hey, check out this one's ears!" another one piped up, pointing at me, "I've never seen ears like that, eh?"

The last thing I felt before I fainted was someone picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. After that, I fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later on that day…<strong>_

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I felt much cooler, and the sheets underneath me felt wonderful. _Wait a minute, _I thought, _Sheets! A bed! _

Sure enough, my eyes opened completely after this, and when I looked around, I noticed I was in an orange room lit with candles. Plants were in almost every corner of the room, and a dresser, along with a closet, were to my left. _How'd I get here from the desert? _I asked, _Jak, Daxter, and Pecker! Where are they? _

I quickly glanced down at myself, and I noticed I was no longer wearing my outfit from this morning, but a white gown. A nightgown, I guessed. Where _was _I? Where had those men taken us?

I threw the sheets off myself upon spotting an outfit draped over a chair, and I went to study it: a brown tank top, light brown shorts, knee-high brown boots, and a brown, crop jacket to match. The men that had found us were wearing mostly brown as well, so I assumed this was somewhat normal attire for this place. I quickly pulled on the outfit after tying my hair into a high ponytail, and after slipping on the boots, I left the room to go find Jak, Daxter, and Pecker. Maybe they managed to figure out where we were.

After being hopelessly lost, I arrived at what looked like a throne room, which was filled with water, rocks, and plants. _Water! _I thought happily to myself as I ran and immediately began drinking some. Precursors, it tasted so good! I found an even bigger surprise a few seconds later.

"Ahh," Daxter sighed as he and Jak also enjoyed the water supply, "I love water. Oh, yes, it's so good. Desert bad."

"Jak! Daxter!" I cried, waving at them, and they turned around to face me.

"Paige!" Daxter shouted, "Toots! You're here! Nice outfit!"

I glanced down at myself. "Thanks," I thanked them, "I found it in the room I woke up in. What is this place?"

"Not sure," Jak replied, "I didn't think anything was out here in the Wasteland."

I nodded and then studied his hair, which I noticed was different. "You cut your hair, Jak?" I gasped.

The blond grinned a little bit. "Whoever found us must have done it," he said.

"It looks good," I complimented, but just as he was about to respond, we heard another voice now that we were alert again.

"Well, you've come back from the dead, have you?" it asked, and we turned to face the man with the staff and white dreadlocks as he entered the room, "And my monks were ready to pray for you. I am Damas, King of Spargus." He had a proud look on his face as he said this. Damas, King of Spargus, huh? So that was where we were!

"Spargus?" Jak echoed, "Wait, nobody lives outside Haven's walls... not a whole city."

"Ahh yes... we ARE the forgotten ones," Damas sighed as if he had heard this a million times before, "Haven City's refuse, thrown out and left to die. Just as you were. But now that you have been saved, your lives belong to the people of Spargus. And we will use them well. If they're actually worth anything."

"Hey!" Daxter snapped, "That sounds like a bad deal!"

"Oh, that's nice," I mumbled as well, "With all due respect, King Damas, our lives are worth something."

"You are in no position to 'deal'," Damas fired back in response, "Out here, everything is either useful or dead weight. Prove yourselves worthy, or the desert will be your grave." _Holy shit, _I thought to myself, gulping, _This guy is intense._

Jak suddenly stood up and narrowed his eyes. "You need to work on making a better first impression," he growled.

But Damas wasn't having any of it. To be honest, he was starting to intimidate me now, but I would hold my ground.

"Ha ha ha!" the King laughed as he moved closer to Jak, "In the unforgiving Wasteland, we value strength and survival above all. We will see where you stand soon enough. Complete your training, then enter the arena. Just the bravest crawl out and are allowed to stay in Spargus. It's quite simple really." I gulped again.

"Umm," Daxter began timidly, "What happens to the ones who don't crawl out?"

"Then it will be as if we never found you," Damas answered simply.

"I was afraid of that," Daxter whispered to us.

"Does Paige have to train too?" Jak asked, pointing at me, and Damas considered me for a minute.

"Everyone who is new to the city must complete the training," he explained, "There are no favors extended to newcomers."

"I wasn't asking for a favor," I insisted, but Damas was already leaving the throne room in order to lead us to the arena.

"I don't know about this, guys," I whispered to the two boys, "Damas seems kind of intense."

"Ahh, it's just because we're new," Dax said in an attempt to calm me down, "We'll blow this training right out of the water."

"What kind of training will we have to do?" Jak asked.

"Something simple, I hope," I answered, taking a deep breath. I continued to think about Damas in the next few minutes. While he and Jak were talking, I noticed they both had similar, dark blue eyes. _It's probably nothing, _I told myself, _Anybody can have the same color eyes. _

* * *

><p>Damn, was the arena noisy or what?<p>

As soon as we separated from Damas, we found ourselves standing on a platform right in the middle as the rest of the citizens cheered all around us. There were other platforms below us and a lava pit at the very bottom. _Shit, _I thought, _Damas, where the hell did you bring us?_

Speaking of the King of Spargus, we spotted him sitting in a throne above us, and Pecker was there, too! "Hail all citizens of Spargus!" the moncaw announced, "Welcome to the arena of death, where we get to watch other people wet themselves in fear! These halls will once again test three newcomers, each fighting to prove their worth to stay among us. Let's hear it for Jak, Paige, and their obnoxious talking animal!" The crowd roared again, and I had to cover my ears for a second.

"Pecker!" Jak shouted from next to me, "There you are! Where've you been?"

"Damas says, I am to be his new counselor," Pecker explained, "He says my wisdom will serve him well. Oh yeah and um... Damas also says that ahh... you three are likely to die in the arena today, and he hopes your death is very ahh..." I face-palmed myself as he said this. _I guess he's used to interpreting for Onin that he forgets Damas isn't mute, _I said to myself, _Besides, I thought Damas didn't extend favors to newcomers_. _What makes Pecker so different?_

"Will you stop that?" Dax shrieked, "Damas can talk for himself!"

"He is right," Damas agreed, "You will most likely die. And yes, Pecker is my new advisor."

"Sheesh," I piped up, "At least have a _little _faith in us, Damas! You haven't even seen what we can do yet!"

"Unlike you, some people appreciate my talents," Pecker hissed as he flew down and stood in front of Daxter, "It beats working for a living... I saw a few of the fights earlier. Oooo... not a pretty sight."

"Thanks for telling us that _before _our turn," Jak thanked him in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"Why, you little…" Daxter fumed.

"Let the games begin!" Pecker announced, and we heard more cheering as the platform we were on lowered until we were standing in front of an obstacle course.

"This is our training?" I asked skeptically as Pecker urged us to begin.

"Let's get this show on the road," Jak decided, leading the way as we completed the training, which included collecting glowing pellets along the way. We mastered the climbing, jumping, and melee moves in the process, and of course, Jak and Daxter were pros at this. I was better than I was back in Haven City, though I wasn't doing too bad, either. Working out at the gym and being on the track team definitely paid off now.

We were halfway finished when Dax turned to me. "Where'd you get some of those sweet moves from?" he asked, "Me?"

I chuckled. "I picked up some things from you guys," I admitted, "And I've been working on being more athletic. What can I say? You influenced me, Jak." I smiled at him, and he grinned back as we finished picking up the pellets and returned to the same platform from before. As we took our places in front of Damas, we heard the crowd roar again, and we felt accomplished. Jak and I high-fived each other as both Damas and Pecker looked floored.

"The candidates have…won the challenge," Pecker admitted in a shocked tone of voice.

"That's right!" Daxter cheered, "We bad! You haven't forgotten what I taught you, Jak!"

"Yeah, nice work!" I complimented him as I patted his shoulder.

Damas, however, looked unimpressed. "Anyone can make a few measly jumps," he said dismissively, "Now, let's see how you rate among the living!" He reached for two Scatter Guns and threw them at us.

"Damn, Damas," I cursed, "You really want us to prove ourselves, don't you?"

"Readjust the Matter Formers!" Damas commanded, "Prepare the arena for full combat!"

"Prepare the arena for full combat!" Pecker echoed.

"I just said that!"

"I know... I was just adding... you know... how you do the thing with the... anyway. Prepare the warriors!"

"Now wait a minute," I began, but Daxter ran right over me.

"You mean we have to fight against actual people?" he shrieked, "With actual weapons? Who actually want to hurt us?"

"Fine," Jak decided, readying his Scatter Gun, "Bring 'em on." Typical Jak, always ready to run headfirst into a battle.

"All right, that's it! I wanna be on _his _shoulder!" He pointed at the King of Spargus as he said this. With a lurch, the platform descended down to the fighting area, and I had to admit I was nervous. If I knew I was going to have to do all this…I didn't want to think about it in that moment.

With the ringing of alarms, the warriors suddenly began pouring out of everywhere imaginable. "Crap!" I shrieked as I fumbled to relearn how to use the Scatter Gun. These warriors were fierce; they wielded large swords that they used to their advantage, and we had to quickly dodge them before getting in some moves of our own. The more warriors we killed, the louder the crowd cheered, and I felt sick at the idea that they liked watching us kill people.

"Paige!" Jak shouted as another alarm rang, and I looked around as some of the floor began to disappear.

"Oh, shit!" I cursed, scrambling to the nearest square just as the entire space sank underneath the lava, taking some of our opponents with it.

"You okay?" I asked them from where I stood. Jak gave me the thumbs up as we waited for the lava to disappear. A minute later, the arena reappeared, and we jumped down and continued to fight the remaining warriors.

When it got close to the end, we jumped down from the safety squares and continued to fight our opponents. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jak put his gun away and quickly transformed into Dark Jak. I gasped to myself, not out of fear, but the thought of what the people watching would say. What Damas would say. I glanced around for a minute. Everyone looked pretty shocked, but we continued our challenge so that we could be allowed to stay in Spargus.

Jak rushed past me, taking out the last of the warriors with Dark Eco, and once they were all down, we climbed onto the platform that had lowered in front of us.

"We did it, Jak!" I cheered in an attempt to get everyone's minds off what had just happened. Dark Jak just smirked at me in victory, and I felt my nervousness disappear. Okay, maybe I was still a _tiny _bit afraid of Dark Jak.

When the platform stopped moving, Jak buried his face into his hands as Dark Jak disappeared, and I could hear the crowd whispering loudly.

Even Damas was at a loss for words this time. "Something you're not telling us, animal man?" he asked. _Animal man? _I thought, _That's a little harsh._

"He has been touched with _Dark Eco_, my liege," Pecker explained, spreading his wings dramatically. Throughout this whole exchange, I felt a stab of guilt once again. I guessed it would never truly go away as long as Jak kept changing into Dark Jak around me.

"Our boy here gets all mean and nasty when you piss him off," Daxter added, "So don't piss him off. Word to the wise!"

"What about you?" Damas asked, facing me as I folded my hands together.

"I…helped to fight the Metal Head Leader in the war last year," I admitted, feeling my face turn red.

"Ah," Damas sighed, "Then they are dangerous. And that could be useful. Your bravery has earned you your first Battle Amulets. If you are victorious in two more arena fights, you will earn your citizenship to Spargus. Here is a gate pass to allow free passage in and out of the city. But beware: there is no true refuge outside our walls. The desert is less kind than I. And for your victory, a gun mod is your prize." In front of us were two Blaster Mods, which Jak and I both eagerly attached to our Scatter Guns.

"Oh yeah!" Dax cheered, "Now we're talking! Hey! What do I get? Nothin'... as usual!"

"Don't worry, Dax," I assured him, "Let's get out of here."

But as we were getting ready to leave, we noticed Jak was staring at a spot on the other side of the arena. "What's wrong, Jak?" I asked him.

Jak shook his head. "I saw someone over there before," he whispered, "In face paint and a robe."

Now I knew what he was talking about. On the way up from the arena, I had seen the same person he was referring to, and she had given both of us a nasty look. Who was she? I guessed we would find out. Being in Spargus City was bound to be interesting.


	5. Hostile Vibes

Next chapter is here! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! By the way: to avoid confusion and the usual debates about Seem's gender, I'm going to refer to the character as being female. You are free to disagree with me, but Seem seems (no pun intended) female to me, from the voice and appearance. Though she could very well be male. I don't know. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog. Any plot points and/or minor alterations from the original storyline are mine.

* * *

><p>"I wonder what the next two arena fights will be like," I wondered out loud as we exited the arena to go back into the main city.<p>

"We probably won't be allowed to fight together again," Jak said, "The first time was just to see if we were useful. Now, it's fight to the death."

"Just as long as they don't pit us against each other," I said hopefully, shuddering a little bit, "Would they really do that?"

"They better not!" Daxter piped up, and we shook our heads as we continued to think about where we were going to live. Damas had given us a key into one of the apartments, and there was only a number on the back. We'd have to find it ourselves, apparently.

"Those were some sweet moves in the arena," a voice suddenly complimented out of nowhere, "But a little more choke and you two would have popped, eh?"

We rounded the corner to see none other than one of the men that had been with Damas when he found us in the desert earlier. I recognized his voice: he was the one who had pointed out my ears to the King of Spargus.

Before I could say anything, Jak was doing all the talking. "You talking to us?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Daxter added, "You talking to…them?"

The man clasped his hands together and made a ridiculous face. "No, I'm conversing with me sweet departed mum," he replied sarcastically, "Of course you, ya bore heads! You three are from the Big Smoke, eh?"

"Who's asking?" Jak asked just as I was about to say the same thing.

"The guy who runs this place, that's who. Kleiver's the name. You blokes stick with me, and I'll take care of ya. In fact, I've got a job for ya right now. Ride me Leaper Lizard here and catch a few of those little buggers that've been raiding me storerooms. Snag me 6 of them puppies, and I'll let you drive one of me racing vehicles. That is, if Damas ever lets you leave the city."

"He gave us a pass, didn't he?" I retorted, and Kleiver just narrowed his eyes at me.

"I think we can handle that," Jak decided.

"Noooo!" Daxter whined, "I hate riding animals! They make me chafe!"

"You coming, Paige?" Jak asked, facing me.

"Nah, you guys go ahead," I declined, "I think I'll go find our apartment with what little information we have." I held up the key as I said this.

"Call us when you find it," the renegade said, and I nodded.

"Good luck, guys!" I told them encouragingly as Kleiver and I watched them get on the Leaper and take off into the city.

_All right, _I thought as I tossed the key into the air and caught it, _Let me see if I can find our home. _

"There's somethin' different about you, eh?" Kleiver suddenly piped up as I was about to leave. I turned to face him as he folded his arms and studied me.

"My ears," I answered simply, "I get that all the time."

Kleiver burst out laughing. "Ya think you're a mind reader, don't ya?" he asked, "I know your ears are different already. I was talkin' about somethin' else."

"I didn't know there was anything else," I commented as we began walking down the stairs into the city. I welcomed the cool air that came with night time.

"You've handled Dark Eco before, too, haven't you?" he guessed, and I was sure my mouth was hanging open in shock. _He totally knows I had something to do with Dark Jak, _I thought to myself as I felt a sweat break out on my forehead.

"No," I lied, even though I had never been a good liar. How the hell could he tell, anyway?

"Ya sure about that?" Kleiver asked, and I nodded fiercely.

"Yeah," I continued to lie, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find my apartment." And before Kleiver could say anything else, I was already walking briskly. I didn't want to run, or else that would make me look even more shady.

In the distance, I could see Jak and Daxter still riding around on Kleiver's Leaper, and I wondered how many kangarats they had caught so far. Shaking my head, I continued on my way. In the distance as well was a body of water and the beach. That looked like a nice place to just relax and take it easy. _Hmm, _I thought, glancing down at the key.

I continued to walk around the city for a few more minutes when I caught the same woman with face paint and a robe from before. She was standing by some of the fruit stands as she gave me the same nasty look she had given both me and Jak back in the arena. What was _her _problem? She didn't know who we were. I just planted my feet firmly on the ground and glared right back at her. She had no right to look at me like that. Or Jak.

"What are you looking at?" I snapped, daring her to come over and say something to me.

We continued to stare at each other for another minute or so before she shook her head and walked away. Either I had won the staring contest or she didn't think I was worth her time.

Once she was gone, I continued walking until I found apartment number twenty, which was the number on the back of the key. _Thank the Precursors, _I thought, breathing a sigh of relief as the key worked on the door. "Jak! Daxter!" I cried into my communicator as I entered one of the bedrooms on the side, "I found the apartment! It's down by the fruit stands."

"_All right,_" Jak responded, "_We just caught the last kangarat. We're on our way._"

"See you in a few minutes." I hung up and opened the window overlooking the street so that I could wave them over. In the meantime, I glanced up at the sky…only to see a large, purple ball over the horizon. _What the hell is that? _I asked myself.

Down below, I spotted Jak and Daxter, and I whistled and waved to them to get their attention. "Whoa!" Dax gasped as soon as he and Jak entered the apartment, "Nice digs!"

"Better than being out in the desert," Jak agreed, "How did Ashelin know something was going to be out here?" I shrugged. Ashelin. I wondered how she and everyone else was doing back in Haven.

"Beats me," I mumbled, "I'm ready to turn in for the night, though. Good night." And with that, I entered one of the bedrooms as Jak and Daxter took the other one. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I instantly fell asleep, relieved that I wasn't fainting from heat exhaustion this time.

* * *

><p><strong>All I could hear from my apartment was screaming, explosions, and guns going off. Now that the Dark Eco Freak was gone, I could move forward with my plans, now that I was in command of everything. The others had given me death looks once they found out I had decided to banish Jak and Paige, and I knew I would have to endure that for a while. I didn't care, though. They would understand one day. <strong>

**Meanwhile, I opened **_**Unlocking the Secrets of the Precursors **_**and began to read it for the millionth time. I had gone over the book time and time again, but got nothing. How was I to go about all this? I had already spoken to the Precursor Monks, but there had to be more to it than this. **

_**Knock knock knock! **_**Who was trying to bother me at this hour? Couldn't they see I was trying to research the Precursors? I put the book down and went to go answer the door, anyway, only to find two of the Freedom League guards standing on the other side. **

**"Ahh," I began, "Peterson and Lloyd. What are you two doing here?" **

**"Trust me," Peterson replied, "We don't want to be here, but we demand to know why you banished Jak and Paige." **

**So **_**that **_**was what they wanted. "Haven't you heard the rumors?" I asked calmly, "They're both dangerous to the city. One of them is a Dark Eco Freak." **

**"No, he's not!" Lloyd snapped, "I originally thought so, too, until I met him." **

**I raised my eyebrows at this as I poured a glass of wine for myself. "That's right," I recalled, "You used to work for Baron Praxis, and you supported that infernal Dark Warrior Program. You really have no right to protest the Council's decision, General." Lloyd opened his mouth and then closed it again, apparently at a loss for words. He knew I was right. He just didn't want to admit it. This amused me to no end. **

**"We get it," Peterson snarled, "You don't like Dark Eco. But why Paige? What did she do to you? Why did you stalk her and make her feel uncomfortable for the two months she's been back?" **

**"Eileen!" Lloyd hissed, smacking Peterson in the side, and I was even more amused by this. Clearly, this wasn't something I was supposed to know about, but it was too late to take it back. So I made Paige uncomfortable, did I? **

**"I have my reasons," was all I said as I took a sip of wine. **

**"Mind telling us what they are?" Lloyd growled, and I just chuckled. **

**"Shouldn't you two be patrolling the city now?" I asked as I waved them along. **

**"You tell us what you're doing right now!" Peterson snapped, but I hurried them out the door and slammed it shut behind them. Finally, I had some peace and quiet, and with that, I returned to **_**Unlocking the Secrets of the Precursors. **_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next morning…<strong>_

The first thing I felt when I woke up was the sea breeze from outside through the open window, and that was when I realized everything that had happened the previous day wasn't just a dream. We had really been banished from Haven City and then brought to Spargus City.

"Jak?" I asked as I hopped out of bed and pulled my boots on, "Daxter?"

"In here!" Daxter cried, and I entered the living room to see the two of them looking out the window at the view below them.

"It's almost like being back home, eh, Dax?" Jak asked, tilting his head to the side. From his tone of voice, I knew he wasn't talking about Haven City. I sighed as I joined them by the window and just gazed out to the horizon for a few minutes.

"Let's go look around the city today," Jak suggested, and we all headed outside again just as we spotted citizens walking around. Everyone was carrying a weapon in his or her hands, which made me realize that Damas meant business. All these people must have gone through the same tests that we had.

The fruit stands came into view again, which reminded me of the staring contest from the previous night. I shook my head and watched as Jak picked up some fruit and began to eat it. I guessed everything was free here, so I decided to take some fruit and treat myself to breakfast.

"I wonder how long this city's been standing here," I wondered out loud as we began walking on the beaches.

"Sounds like a while," Jak surmised, "There are a lot of people here who were thrown out of Haven, apparently."

"Hey!" Daxter suddenly piped up, and we both glanced towards what he was pointing to. _Oh, no, _I thought, gritting my teeth. He spotted the woman from the arena and jumped down from Jak's shoulder as he approached her and the group of monks she was with. They were all standing around some sort of purple satellite as they…prayed? At least, that's what it looked like they were doing.

"Check out these funny dudes, huh?" the ottsel began as we approached them, "Hee hee hee... Nice threads. I didn't know rubber was back in. What are ya working on, monk boy?"

"I think that's a girl," I whispered to Daxter. To be honest, I wasn't sure myself. I was just making guesses.

"It is none of your concern, _animal_," the woman, who was clearly the leader, hissed. So I wasn't the only one she hated.

"Well, aren't you friendly?" I growled.

"Look, coloring book!" Dax replied, "We've had a hard week. Don't push it!"

"_You_," she snarled, facing me and waving her hand in front of me, "Your ears are like nothing I've ever seen before. They're _different._ There is something else about you, too…" She said this almost in a condescending way, and I could already tell she and I weren't going to get along.

"Why don't you tell me what it is?" I asked in a frustrated voice, "Instead of making cutting comments like that?"

Ignoring me, the monk turned to face Jak, and she studied him intently. "The arena shows all, dark one," she stated cryptically to the renegade, "Hate consumes your eyes."

"Great," Jak responded sarcastically, "Thanks for the tip."

"It will destroy you... just as these Precursors destroyed themselves." She gestured to the satellite as she said this. _What the hell do you know about what will destroy us? _I thought scathingly to myself.

"It doesn't look like any Precursor crap we've seen," Daxter piped up.

"These artifacts are an abomination," the monk replied, "One fell on the great volcano. We sent an expedition to the mountain, but my monks never returned. Ill tidings sing in the wind. I fear the remaking of the world is at hand." She waved her hands in the air, and I raised my eyebrows.

"O…kay," I stammered, "Peace out. I'm going back to the apartment."

"I think you've been out in the sun a little too long," Dax agreed, "Let's go, Jak." With that, we began to walk away, but our best friend wasn't finished.

"You must leave this place!" she cried to us, "Heroes think they can save the world, when they themselves are lost. You could not _possibly_ understand the dark forces at work here." I gasped to myself as we all stopped dead in our tracks. I could see some purple sparks emitting from Jak's skin, and I knew this woman had said the wrong thing. If there was one thing I learned during forming my friendship with Jak, it was to never talk down to him about anything to do with Dark Eco.

Before we could stop him, Jak was already whirling around and marching up to the monk. "Bad move," I warned her, and she glared at me in response.

"Don't talk to me about dark powers!" Jak snapped. I watched the woman's face to see if she was the least bit afraid. Jak was pretty scary whenever he got angry; I knew all about that firsthand. I noticed she looked ready to cut and run for a minute, but that seemed to wear off, and she returned to narrowing her eyes at him.

"I want to know what this is," he continued without waiting for her to respond. He waved his hand, and the Dark Eco that was inside him suddenly activated the satellite. We all turned our attention to it as it came to life.

"Stand back," Jak warned all of us, and we watched as he began to study it intensely.

While we waited for him to finish, I studied the monk as she stood back and folded her arms. "What's _your _problem?" I asked her as I approached her, "What was up with your little staring contest last night?"

"I have seen who you really are, short ears," she answered, holding a hand up, "You are a bigger threat than you realize."

"And that's an excuse for you to look at me whatever way you want?" I asked, "That's a little messed up, don't you think?" She didn't answer.

"By the way, my name is Paige," I added, "Not _short ears_." The monk looked like she didn't care what the hell my name was, and I folded my arms in annoyance.

"Got it!" Jak cried, directing our attention back to the satellite.

"You cracked it, Jak!" Daxter cheered as a solid, purple crystal appeared on our end. Jak went to touch it, but the woman next to me looked horrified.

"Don't touch it!" she warned, "Dark Eco!"

"Relax," I whispered to her, "It's not a problem for him." We watched as Jak removed the Dark Eco crystal and held it in his hands with no ill effects.

"Yeah!" Daxter piped up, "You're impressed now, aren't ya? Come on, give him his props."

"Those are solid eco crystals," she explained, "It has been passed down through time that they power the greatest of Precursor technologies." Suddenly, something began to flash in front of us.

"Strange... It speaks an ancient dialect. The earliest Precursor forms. Something about re-claiming this unfinished world..."

"Those look like coordinates," Jak realized, "Like the ones from-"

"It is picking up a very powerful signal," the monk all but interrupted him as she held up a hand. I was really beginning to dislike her just as much as she didn't like us.

"I don't think we're gonna like what this thing is yapping to!" Daxter screeched, and we watched as the satellite came to life and hovered in the air.

"It's gonna blow!" I cried, and we all ducked as it sent out a signal before exploding in a flash of purple.

"What the hell?" Jak mumbled as we straightened up again.

"Even you cannot save us from this, _hero_!" the monk leader hissed, glaring at us with her red eyes.

"Hey!" Dax quipped, "I'm the real hero, here! Just call me…Orange Lightning! _Za za zing!_"

"You may carry the color of our creators, animal," the monk replied in a hostile tone of voice as she pointed at the ottsel, "But we have plans to save ourselves. Stay out of our business! You, short ears, and Orange Lightning are _not _welcome here!" She was facing away from us as she said this, but we could hear her snide tone of voice all the same.

"You're just full of sunshine," I retorted, "Let's go, guys. Let's find someone who actually wants us here."

"Kleiver's calling us," Jak announced, "He wants us to meet him at the garage." We turned to leave, but not before I turned around to catch the monks staring at us as we walked away from them.

"Why is it that everywhere we go, somebody hates us?" I asked the others once we were halfway to the garage.

"They can't take how awesome I am!" Daxter joked, and Jak and I both cracked up.

"Well, you seemed to piss the monks off," a new voice greeted out of nowhere, and we looked around for a moment as it laughed.

"Up here!" it called, and we glanced up to see a woman sitting on a ledge above us. She just grinned wryly as she leaped down to our level.

"Don't worry about them," she assured us, "They distrust all newcomers. Oh, you should've seen the looks they gave me when I first got here…"

"I can only imagine," I mumbled.

The girl, who didn't look that much older than we did, chuckled as she shook her head. "Wow, I almost forgot my manners," she said, "I'm Lena."

Jak just studied Lena before deciding it was safe to introduce himself. "I'm Jak," he said, shaking her hand.

"I'm Paige," I told her next.

"And I'm Orange Lightning!" Dax introduced himself.

"Daxter," both Jak and I corrected, running right over the ottsel during his exaggerated introduction.

"So you're the newcomers, huh?" Lena asked, "I heard about Damas finding you guys. We all did. Haven City was always unfair with that stuff."

"Baron Praxis is dead," Jak reported in a rough voice.

"We've heard that, too," Lena replied, "You'd be surprised at how quickly word spreads out here."

"So you were banned from Haven City, too?" I asked.

"A _long _time ago. But it's in the past."

Jak's communicator went off again. "Kleiver's calling again," he announced to Lena, "We should get going."

"You guys go ahead," I said to them, "I'm going to see if I can find a job here in the meantime."

"Like what, toots?" Dax asked.

"Watching out for Marauders," Lena piped up, "Or those who have been banished from Spargus. It's what I do for a living here. I help the rest of the Spargus army from my watchtower."

"I want to find out more about that," I decided, "I'll catch up with you guys later." They nodded and took off.

"So you want to be useful around here, huh?" Lena asked.

"Yeah," I confirmed, "I don't want to sit around and do nothing, or else Damas might kick me out of the city."

"Sometimes, I stay at the watchtower, and other times, I drive out into the desert. It's all part of the job, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride."

I couldn't help but smile as I forgot all about the unfriendly monks from earlier. I knew there was more to Lena's story than she was letting on, but there was always time to ask her about it later. For now, I decided to see what watching for the Marauders was like, as well as how Jak and Daxter were faring with Kleiver. So far, some of the Wastelanders here had been…interesting, especially the monks. Why did they have to be so unfriendly?


	6. A Day in the Sun

Here we go! Next chapter is here! Thanks again for all the reviews and support! :) This may or may not be the last update for a while. It depends on if I have free time between studying for final exams. Thanks again, though!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p><em>"I wonder what Kleiver wants," I said to Daxter once we arrived at the garage. He just shrugged, and once Kleiver noticed we were here, he turned to face us. <em>

_"Well," he began, "If it isn't the newbies." _

_Daxter suddenly stood up and tried to tell off Kleiver. "Keep yapping, jelly boy!" he snarled, gesturing to his stomach, "We'll see who-" _

_"Bite ya bum, rat face!" Kleiver snapped, grabbing Dax by the neck, "Or I'll pound ya!" _

_"Easy," I warned him as he let go of my friend. _

_"Uurgh," Dax groaned, "Great stink of the Precursors! I got two words for ya... tooth brush!" I had to laugh to myself a little bit. Everywhere we went, he always ran into someone who had bad breath. First, it was the Fisherman from Sandover, and then Krew back in Haven. _

_"Nice rides," I complimented, looking around at all the different cars that were parked here. _

_Kleiver smirked. "You like what you see?" he asked without so much as a thank you, "We use these babies to make runs into the deep desert to retrieve artifacts. Tough wheels for tough work." _

_"You said we could use one," I reminded him. _

_"I did, didn't I? But not one of those. Those are for the big boys. You can use that one." He first pointed to the larger vehicles that he said we couldn't use, and then he gestured to a smaller vehicle that didn't have a gun attached to it, which was nicknamed the Tough Puppy from the sign that was above its parking space. _

_"Hah!" Dax scoffed, "What a runt!" _

_"Seems to fit you," Kleiver commented. _

_"Get in, Dax," I said, "I'll drive." _

_In that moment, Kleiver looked thoughtful about something. "Care to wager a little somethin' on a race, then? If you win, I'll let you keep that little vehicle for as long as you live. And if I win?" _

_"I don't have anything," I replied, glancing down at my hands. _

_"I'd say that yappy rodent of yours is a bit bony, but skinned and buttered he'd make a nice treat. My vehicle against him." He wasn't serious. Was he? _

_"Forget it, buddy!" Dax declined, "Jak would never-" _

_"Done!" I interrupted him, and he gave me an incredulous look. _

_"What?" I asked, "Don't worry. If there's one thing I can do, it's race." _

_"Remind me next time to stick with Paige!" Dax fumed, and I just shook my head in amusement. How was Paige doing, anyway? _

_"Your little friend from the arena?" Kleiver piped up just as we climbed into the Tough Puppy, "You sure you can trust her?" _

_"Yeah," I answered, "Why?" _

_Kleiver shrugged. "No reason," was all he said, and he just waved as we gave him a confused look and then left to go out into the desert. _

_In front of us was an obstacle course, and we quickly learned how to drive the Tough Puppy through it. "What was jelly boy talking about before?" Dax asked as we continued the training. _

_"I don't know," I replied, "Why wouldn't we trust Paige?" However, I could think of one main reason: the Dark Warrior Program. _

_"Maybe she said something to him?" Dax suggested. I shrugged. _

_"We'll ask her when we get back," I decided, "For now, we've got a race to win." And with that, we finished the obstacle course and approached the starting line. _

_"Ready?" Kleiver asked from his car, "Let's do this!" _

_And in a cloud of sand, we took off. _

* * *

><p>"So this is your watchtower?" I asked as we finally climbed all the way to the top. The view from up here was amazing! We could see everything, and down below, just outside Spargus, it looked like a race was going on.<p>

"Yep," Lena chirped happily, "I can see everything from here! Look!" She handed me some binoculars, and I peered into them in time to see Jak, Daxter, Kleiver, and a bunch of other men racing against each other.

"Kleiver," I mumbled, "He _would _ask them to race like this. I wonder why, though."

"Beats me," Lena replied, "Anyway, you said before you wanted to learn more about watching out for Marauders? Well, you've come to the right place. The first thing you have to remember is: keep your eyes open, and be prepared for any sneak attacks. The Marauders have tried that before."

"Not successfully, right?" I asked worriedly.

"Never," Lena confirmed, "None of them have ever dared to enter Spargus City again after being kicked out. Not that Damas is a merciless king or anything. It's just…"

"He values strength and survival above all," I finished for her, quoting the King from the other night.

"He really got through to you guys, huh?" Lena asked as she sighed.

"Yeah," I told her, "And he thought I was trying to worm my way out of going through the arena. Jak asked if I had to go through the training, and Damas assumed I was asking for favors."

"He just wants to make sure you all can take care of yourselves. I remember when I went through the arena, I almost lost, but I pulled through at the last minute."

"Good for you," I complimented.

"Now, why don't we get started on our job?" Lena suggested, "You want to be useful, right? Here's your chance to start." She got up from her seat and let me sit there. So far, I didn't see anything, except for Jak, Daxter, and Kleiver's race, as well as other clouds of sand off in the distance.

"What's going on out there?" I asked, pointing.

Lena peered over my head. "That's more Marauders," she explained, "They're always driving around, hoping that they'll find something out in the desert. There isn't much, though, so they're not exactly lucky."

I sighed and continued to glance around in all directions. For the next few minutes, we checked the desert, the city itself, and the beach where the unfriendly monks were praying before. They were still down there, and I was glad we didn't have to speak to them.

"So you said the monks are unfriendly to everyone, huh?" I asked, "To be honest, Lena, I think that's an understatement. They _hate _us. Well, their leader does, anyway."

"Why?" Lena asked, "What'd you two do to piss her off?"

"That's just it!" I responded, "Nothing! She started with us by giving us a look in the arena."

"Like I said," Lena repeated from before, "I wouldn't worry about her. She does that to everyone." She then glanced down at the race and noticed it was over.

"Looks like your friends won," she announced.

"They did?" I cried, moving past her so that I could see. As of now, Jak and Daxter were taking a victory drive outside the gates. _Wow, _I thought, _Looks like they did win._

"Kleiver looks pissed," I mused, fixing my gaze on the other man as he stormed off in anger.

"Ahh, Kleiver," Lena sighed, "Where do I begin with him?"

"He's definitely an interesting character," I decided, "He reminds me of Krew a little bit."

At this, Lena raised an eyebrow. "You guys knew Krew?" she asked in surprise.

I nodded. "Did you?" I inquired in response.

She was about to answer when we suddenly heard footsteps. _Speak of the devil, _I thought as we turned towards the staircase.

"Your friend's got a real knack for racing, eh?" Kleiver asked me as he stepped into the tower, "He just won one of me vehicles." He sounded resentful about this.

"Which one?" Lena asked.

"The little runt," Kleiver answered, and Lena nodded in understanding.

"Tough Puppy," she whispered to me.

"Anyway," Kleiver continued, "I overheard the newbies talking before the race. About you."

I folded my arms. "What about me?" I asked.

"They're planning out their strategies for the next arena fight," Kleiver explained, "After all, you won't be allowed to fight together the next time around, eh? They really want to stay in the city."

"That's a lie," I challenged, "We talked about it last night. We don't want to fight against each other."

However, Kleiver just shrugged. "He could change his mind at any time," he replied noncommittally, "Just thought I'd tell you that." And with a wink, he left the tower again. That was all he wanted?

"What was that all about?" Lena asked me as she raised an eyebrow.

"Who knows?" I mumbled, "Let's just get back to work." And with that, we turned our attention back to the desert, where Jak and Daxter were taking off in the Tough Puppy once again. Where were they going now?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later on…<strong>_

"Okay," Lena decided, "Here's what we're going to do. You're going to come in every morning and keep watch here till three in the afternoon. Then, I'll take over from there. Between the two of us, we shouldn't miss a thing in the desert."

"Sounds good," I agreed, nodding, "See you tomorrow morning?"

"You've got it," Lena said, grinning, and waving, I turned to leave the tower. At least I had a job here while Jak and Daxter were off taking care of…whatever they were taking care of.

_And speaking of Jak and Daxter, _I thought as I spotted them reentering the city with Damas. From far away, I could see armor on Jak's arms. Where had he found that?

"Paige!" Dax cried to me as soon as he looked up and spotted me. He waved me over, and I walked briskly towards them.

"Hey, guys," I greeted.

"How's it going, toots?" the ottsel asked.

"Pretty good," I sighed, "I saw your race with Kleiver before from the watchtower. You guys were good." Kleiver. The information he had passed on to me before resonated in the back of my mind.

"Thanks," Jak thanked me, glancing down at the armor he was wearing. It seemed something was on his mind as well.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked, pointing to it.

"We found it in the desert," Jak explained.

"It's very rare, that armor," Damas also explained to me, "Worn by Mar himself."

"Wow," I whispered, "I'm impressed." Mar. I was fascinated by everything he'd done as well, ever since hearing about him during the last war.

"How have you been faring in Spargus?" Damas asked me next.

"I found a job at the watchtower," I told him, "Lena said I could help her and the Spargus army." I knew why he was asking: he was starting to see that Jak was useful, and he wanted to make sure the same went for me.

Damas just nodded, but I could tell he was pleased with the both of us. He turned to face Jak again, and I couldn't help but notice some sort of…connection. It was almost like when I had picked up bad vibes from Kor, but this was different. Much different. _It's nothing, _I told myself, _Just like with the same color eyes._ Both their eyes bothered me the most, but I decided not to say anything about it. I had no clue about _Jak 3, _anyway.

"Paige?" Jak asked, addressing me, "Did you hear what Damas just asked?"

I blinked and focused my attention on the King of Spargus again. "Sorry, no," I muttered, "I must've spaced out."

"I was asking Jak how you two met," Damas repeated to me after apparently asking the renegade the same question.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "We met during the war in Haven City last year," I answered, refusing to go into more detail than that. I could see Jak giving me a look, and I wondered what that was all about.

"As long as you continue to show that you're useful, that's all that matters," the King replied, and with that, he turned to go back inside the Palace. We all watched him leave before we glanced at each other.

"Want to go down to the beach?" I asked, "To just take it easy?"

"What about working at the watchtower?" Jak asked as we began heading back to the beach.

"I'm finished for the day," I reported, "I'm working in the mornings until around this time, and Lena's taking the night shifts." Jak just nodded.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him, "You seem kind of quiet."

"No," he insisted, "I'm okay. Still thinking about being out here."

_Uh huh, _I thought, but I nodded all the same as we began walking through Spargus. Maybe after going to the beach, we would go back to the apartment and rest.

"You are still here?"

_Damn it, _I cursed to myself as we looked up and saw none other than the friendly monk from this morning. She was standing by a leaper, and her monks were situated close to her.

"Got a problem with that?" I asked, smirking as I placed my hands on my hips.

"Yeah, we thought we'd hang out," Jak replied with a grin on his face, "Catch some rays..."

"This isn't a game!" the monk snapped, and we all glanced at each other, raising our eyebrows. _Oh, you couldn't be more mistaken, _I couldn't help but think to myself.

"I am Seem," she introduced herself, "We monks are sworn to discover and protect the secrets of the Precursors. These Leaper mounts allow us to travel where you cannot." She gestured to the lizard as she said this. So Seem was her name, huh?

"Like where?" I asked in spite of myself. Although I didn't like Seem at all, I was curious about her and her monks.

Seem narrowed her eyes at me. "It is none of your concern, _short ears_," she replied, and I folded my arms in anger.

"I am not changing my ears for you," I told her, "So too bad."

"Man, those babies sure stuff their faces," Dax interrupted in an attempt to stop the potential argument between me and Seem, "We saw one gulp a load of kanga-rats not too long ago. Stupid rats, they just sat-"

Suddenly, Seem's Leaper snatched the ottsel up from the ground and attempted to eat him for dinner. Daxter screamed and wriggled as he tried to get out of the lizard's mouth. Seem just watched this and shook her head.

"You three will never last out here," she said. She then pointed to the Dark Eco Crystal Jak had collected this morning.

"That Dark Eco crystal from the satellite... I want it before it falls into the wrong hands. I'll wager a Light Crystal against it, if you race my monks on their Leapers."

"Another race?" Jak whispered to me, and I just shrugged.

Seem faced her Leaper. "_Sien-com-tava!_" she scolded, waving her hands,_ "Baroosh... baroosh..._" _Whoa, _I thought to myself, _That must be the ancient Precursor language. _The lizard obeyed Seem and released Daxter.

"Just show us where the starting line is!" he growled, and three of the other monks prepared to race as Jak and Daxter took the last available Leaper. Seem performed more magic just as rings appeared in the racers' paths.

"How'd you do that?" I asked, but Seem shushed me.

"On your monk," Daxter began, "Get set…_ride_!"

And with that, they all took off, and I had to laugh at Daxter's puns. He was a riot. Really, he was.

The only bad thing about this was that once they were gone, that left me alone with _Seem_. Hopefully, she wasn't planning on killing me. "Look," I began as we walked over to where the finishing line for the race was, "I know we're not exactly your favorite people, but can we start over? Maybe introduce ourselves properly. My name is Paige Smith, and I-"

"I know what it is you seek, short ears," Seem cut me off, "And you will not find it here."

I raised an eyebrow. "What am I seeking, then?" I challenged her, "Go on, tell me. I'd love to know."

"You seek answers to mysteries from the past," Seem replied nonchalantly, "About your favorite subject. Your eyes say it all." I was sure my eyes were widening in shock. How did she know that?

"That's creepy," I retorted, feeling unsettled as she gave her answer, "You know that?" Seem smirked as we turned our attention to the race, where Jak and Daxter seemed to be claiming first place yet again. First cars, and now Leapers? What races _weren't _they good at?

It was a close race, but naturally, Jak and Daxter finished in first place, flying through the last ring as they landed next to us. "Nice work, guys!" I complimented right in front of Seem.

"Oh yeah!" Jak cheered.

"Ha!" Dax added, "We kicked your scaly tails! Back off, ya filthy animal!"

Seem looked none too pleased, but what could she do about it? Jak and Daxter had won fair and square. "Fine, hero," she huffed, handing the Light Eco Crystal over to Jak, "The crystal is yours. The two types, light and dark, when combined form great energies. Be careful with them. And when you die, do be kind enough to give them back." Well, she was the most optimistic person on the planet, wasn't she?

"I don't plan on it," Jak assured her, "Why are you so obsessed with death?"

"Because of _that_!" Seem exclaimed, pointing to the large, purple ball of light I had noticed the night before. We all glanced up at it.

"The Day Star approaches," she announced ominously, "And every day, it grows brighter. This planet's final trial is coming!" We just stood on the beach as we gazed at the Day Star for a few minutes. What Seem had just said resonated with us, and I wondered what was going to happen if that Star grew any brighter. Then again, did I really want to know?

* * *

><p>"Man, Paint Face is serious about this!" Daxter commented as we sat in our apartment again. We had picked up some fruit on the way back, along with some drinks, and we were just relaxing and enjoying the evening sunset as we ate. We could still see the Day Star from where we were.<p>

"I don't know what to make of Seem, honestly," I piped up, "She's starting to creep me out a little bit. Almost like she can read our souls or something." I shivered and drank a little more water.

"So," I said, facing Jak and changing the subject, "Damas let you keep that armor you found, huh?"

"He said I was going to need it," Jak replied, "Maybe it'll help in the arena."

In that moment, I remembered what Kleiver had said earlier. _Hmm, _I thought, drumming my fingers on the table, but opting not to comment. Jak and Daxter wouldn't want me booted out of the city. I knew they wouldn't.

"Something on your mind?" the blond teenager asked me.

"No," I quipped, "Nothing at all. What about you?"

"Nothing," was all Jak said, but I knew he was thinking about something. For some reason, he wouldn't tell me what it was. I could feel tension in the air, which was broken by the sound of Jak's communicator going off.

"It's Kleiver again," Jak announced, "He wants all of us to meet him at the garage."

"Again?" Daxter whined, "Don't bet on my life this time if it's another race!" Jak just chuckled into his hand as he got up from the table. I cleared my stuff away and followed them as they walked back to the Spargus Garage. I glanced around for a minute as I took in all the different cars. _This is pretty badass, _I thought, and right in the middle of it all was Kleiver himself.

"You guys looking for a bit of action?" he asked, "The scope shows a group of Metal Heads moving through the desert not too far from here, according to Lena. I don't like Metal Heads almost as much as I don't like you! And you've got some proving to do! Intercept those bad boys and give 'em hell. Who knows? You may even get a few toys for your effort."

"Like what?" I asked, thinking about how much he reminded me of Krew right now.

"Why does it sound like you're leaving out the dangerous parts?" Daxter questioned suspiciously, "Jak, Paige, I'm getting some nasty Juju vibes here. I don't have these whiskers for nothing, ya know..."

"Relax," Jak chided, "We can handle a few Metal Heads. Right, Paige?"

"Damn right, we can," I agreed.

Kleiver chuckled. "Have you ever seen a Wasteland Metal Head?" he asked in an amused tone of voice.

"No," Daxter replied, "Why?"

"Nothing. Just wondering. Go get 'em, heroes."

I watched as Jak and Daxter climbed into another vehicle, known as the Sand Shark from the sign above it. "You coming, toots?" Daxter asked, patting the seat next to him and Jak.

I glanced from them to Kleiver and then took a deep breath. "Oh, why not?" I decided, hopping in next to them and pulling a scarf on lightly over my nose and mouth. I had been in the city all day and hadn't really gotten to see any action yet. Here was my chance.

Jak slammed on the gas pedal and took off through the gate into the desert. "Whoa!" I gasped as I held on for dear life. This was the first time I had been in a car with Jak. Riding on Zoomers with him back in Haven City had been an adventure enough.

"Just sit back and enjoy the ride!" Daxter shouted over the wind, and he leaped down again as Jak continued to cruise through the Wasteland. There were no Marauders out at this time, thank the Precursors. The sun continued to set as we drove.

_Stomp, stomp, stomp! _What was that? I glanced up through the sand blowing all around us to see something running around in the distance. "I think that's one of the Metal Heads up ahead!" I cried to Jak, "He doesn't look so tough."

However, I had spoken too soon. As soon as we drove closer, we really got to see a Wasteland Metal Head for the first time. "_Holy crap!_" we all gasped as the dinosaur-like beast plowed into our car, sending us flying into the air far away from it. We sailed quite a few feet before landing almost back where we had first entered this part of the desert. We had never seen Metal Heads that big before, except maybe for Metal Kor.

"Damn," Jak hissed, "So that's what Kleiver was talking about."

"And Kor," I added, "Remember when he told us he saw Wasteland Metal Heads during his journeys?"

"He was probably communicating with them!" Daxter said in response.

I quickly checked the Sand Shark to see how it was holding up after that, but there was surprisingly little to no damage on it. _Resilient vehicles, _I thought to myself, _Nice going there, Spargus._

After we regained ourselves, Jak drove towards the Metal Head again while Daxter hopped onto my lap and began operating the dual guns on the front of the Sand Shark. While he did that, I took out my guns to see if I could do any shooting with the Blaster Mod from where I sat. With our combined fire, the first Metal Head went down, and we cheered briefly before going to find more. According to the radar Kleiver had given us before we left, there were three more in the area.

The winds began to pick up as we drove around. The Metal Heads chucked Dark Eco in our direction, which we quickly avoided. Jak skidded to a stop before turning the Sand Shark around and continuing to drive. Daxter and I spotted the next Metal Head. "There's the next one!" Dax cried, and Jak steered us towards the giant beast. The Metal Head roared as Daxter and I shot it. Naturally, my bullets weren't nearly as strong as the ones from the vehicle, but they helped to get the job done.

Once that fiend was down, we moved on to the third one, and that one quickly went down as well. It was the last Wasteland Metal Head that gave us problems.

With a loud roar, the creature swiped at us with its huge head and sent us flying once again. This time, we crashed into a rock, and I noticed small flames were starting to spew from the back of the Sand Shark. "Damn it!" I hissed, "We're starting to take damage now!"

"Don't worry!" Jak retorted, "This one's on its last leg!"

Daxter and I pumped a little more lead into this last Metal Head, and after a few shots, it roared and collapsed. "We did it!" the ottsel cheered, pumping his fist into the air, but Jak was frowning.

"Wait a minute," he mumbled, and when we squinted our eyes, we watched as the dinosaur picked itself up again and plowed right into us, knocking us back again.

"_What the hell?_" I yelled, "It was playing dead?" _Smart Metal Head, _I thought, _I can't stand it! _

The Sand Shark was beginning to spit out smoke now, and Daxter and I resumed shooting at the Metal-Saur as Jak did all the driving. He was a natural at this.

"Kleiver is so dead when we get back to the city!" Daxter shouted while Jak and I drove around and shot at the last Wasteland Metal Head.

"Keep shooting!" I cried, "We've almost got him!" I ducked my head as the Metal Head slammed into us and sent us flying back into the air. The Sand Shark was getting to its last legs as well, but we had to hold on.

We all continued to pump the Metal Head full of lead when it finally groaned and collapsed to the ground. As it did, a communicator flew into the air and landed in the sand next to it. Another Dark Eco crystal flew out next, and Jak lowered his scarf and bent down to pick it up. I moved closer to him to examine it just as a voice appeared out of nowhere and began to speak.

"_Metal Head commander, report!_" it boomed. We whipped around to see a hologram of a head appear from the communicator.

"_What's happening?_" the head shrieked, "_If you lost that cargo and you're still alive, I'll kill you myself!_" I gasped and froze in my spot as Jak moved closer to the communicator. _No, _I thought, _It can't be!_

"_I want every Dark Eco crystal you can find! Time is short! Did you hear me?_" The head turned to face us, and it gasped.

"_Wait, not you!_" it cried, "_AHHH!_" Jak stepped on the communicator and destroyed the hologram.

"I don't like the sound of your voice," Jak muttered.

"Ha! You sure kicked sand in his face!" Daxter said, "Oh, yeah. That was good."

"That face looked familiar…" Jak continued quietly.

"Now you're getting paranoid, buddy boy. Come on, Bigfoot. Let's get back. This desert gives me the creeps." The two of them turned to go back to the Sand Shark.

"I'm not paranoid," Jak objected, "I don't know. Paige?"

I didn't answer right away, as my gaze was fixed on the broken communicator, but as soon as Jak addressed me, I glanced at him and said, "We should probably get back to Spargus. I'll meet you at the Sand Shark." Jak and Daxter went to go back to the car. Meanwhile, I marched over to the communicator and stepped on it one more time.

We were all surprisingly silent during our trip back to Spargus. None of us knew what to say. "Jak," I piped up, "I don't think you're being paranoid. Something seemed familiar about the face to me, too. And that voice…" I trailed off, took a deep breath, and began again.

"I'm going to sound crazy for saying this, but…that sounded like…like _Erol._"

At this, Jak glanced over at me, and I knew he was thinking the same thing. "Erol?" he echoed.

"I know, it's ridiculous," I admitted, "But still…"

"It couldn't have been him, toots!" Daxter chimed in, "He's dead! We saw him blow up after the Class One Race!"

I closed my eyes for a minute as flashbacks of Erol crashing into a month's supply of Dark Eco returned to me.

"Whoever that was clearly knew who we were," Jak pointed out, "But how?"

I shrugged, and we fell silent once more. I rested my cheek on my hand as I continued to remember the end of the Class One Race, and more specifically, the last thing I had said to the KG Commander before his fatal accident.

_"Pretty close race, Erol," I had said to him as I pulled up next to him in my Zoomer, "But not close enough. Looks like you're not the best anymore. Too bad." _

_"You bitch," Erol had hissed at me, lifting his mask away from his face as I smiled and took off to meet up with Jak and Daxter, the winners. As they picked up the pass into the Palace, I looked around and wondered where Erol had gone after that. I looked up just in time to see him driving off down the track. At the time, I didn't realize how it was about to end. _

"We better get some rest," Jak said in an attempt to change the subject once we were back in the city, "Who knows what else Damas and Kleiver want us to do around here?" I rolled my eyes and allowed myself to smile as we returned to our apartment close to the fruit stands.

"Do you really think that was Erol?" the renegade asked.

I shrugged. "How could it be him?" I asked, "He's dead."

"We have the night to think about it," he assured me, "We're going to turn in. Good night." The door to their bedroom shut, leaving me to go into my room. I kicked my boots off and buried my face into my pillow. That face and voice back in the desert bothered me to no end. It couldn't have been Erol. It just _couldn't_! If so, then how the hell was he alive again?


	7. Mirror of the Soul

And we're live again! Sorry for the long gap in updating. I had finals to study for and I had to move all my stuff out of my dorm for the summer. Thank you for being patient with me during all this. Thanks again for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! :)

PS- Some things may not make sense in this chapter, but they will later on in the story.

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog. The side plots involving Kleiver and Seem are also mine.

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><p><strong>"Council dismissed," I announced to the rest of the Grand Council as each of the members packed his or her briefcases and exited for the night. We had just been discussing the proper course of action because of the war ravaging Haven City, and I decided to put up a white shield so that the Metal Heads wouldn't attack from some of the ruins. <strong>

**Once everyone was gone, I put my staff down as I took out **_**Unlocking the Secrets of the Precursors **_**again. Those catacombs that Samos had found a few days ago were my top priority, and if I didn't find out a few of the secrets of the Precursors, then my mission would be in vain. I wouldn't let that happen. **

**Suddenly, out of nowhere, my communicator began to ring. Why was it that someone was always trying to bother me during the times where I was in the middle of something? "Hello?" I asked, speaking into the communicator. **

**"**_**I saw them in the desert today,**_**" a voice replied from the other end without so much as a greeting. **

_**Ahh, Erol, **_**I thought to myself as I recognized the slightly metallic voice pouring from the speakers, **_**Still going strong after more reconstruction, I see? **_**"Who?" I asked, setting the book from the library aside. We had conflicting interests. That wasn't a secret, but we both had one…well, **_**two **_**main ****enemies in common. **

**"**_**Jak and Paige. They stole one of the Dark Eco Crystals I was looking for.**_**" **

**At the mention of Dark Eco, I cringed, but even more so at the news that the Dark Eco Freak and his creator were both still alive, after I had banished them to the Wasteland. That must have meant… **

**Aha! **

**"They've reached Spargus City, haven't they?" I said more to myself than to Erol, but he still answered anyway. **

**"**_**I don't care about that!" **_**he snapped impatiently, "**_**I just don't want them getting in my way again!**_**" **

**"They won't," I assured him, "I'll see to that. One way or another." **

**"**_**Good. They took everything from me. It's only fair to do the same to them.**_**" **

**I smirked to myself. Poor Erol. He had once been confident, or a little **_**too **_**confident at times, but now…his pride had been wounded. He was never the same after that. I wanted to tell him that he and Baron Praxis should have listened to me a long time ago, but I decided against it. He would see one day. **

**"**_**They didn't recognize me, though,**_**" Erol continued when I didn't reply. **

**"Well, you are dead to them," I retorted, "Don't worry. With your reconstruction, you should be able to handle them with no problem. Don't back down." **

**"**_**Never.**_**" With that, Erol hung up, and I took a deep breath before getting in contact with someone else. Someone I had known since before the war last year. **

**"Hello, Seem," I greeted smoothly when the monk on the other end picked up, "I have a question for you: is there a Dark Eco Freak and a girl in the city with you?" **

**Seem paused before answering. "**_**Yes,**_**" she said simply, "**_**Not that they are welcome here, but yes.**_**" **

**"That's what I thought," I replied, "When are you available to talk? I have a favor to ask of you, and I promise it will be rewarding for you…" **

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next late morning…<strong>_

"Paige! Focus!" Lena shouted at me, and I opened my eyes again as I focused on the desert just beyond the city.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked, shoving a canister of water at me, "You've been distracted all morning." She chuckled.

"I don't want to have to fire you after one day," she joked.

"Sorry," I apologized, "I've just…got a lot on my mind, that's all." I yawned as I said this. I hadn't been able to fall asleep in a while, and when I did, it was a couple of hours before I was supposed to wake up anyway.

"What's the matter?" Lena asked, hopping down from where she was sitting to face me.

_I think I saw someone who's supposed to be dead, _I said to myself, but I shook my head and replied, "Nothing. It might just be the desert heat."

However, Lena didn't believe me. "You sure?" she asked, "Because you look as white as a ghost."

"You're not too far off," I mumbled to myself. Although I found Lena to be very friendly, I still wasn't ready to tell her personal details of my life. I still didn't know her that well.

"Whatever it is, I wouldn't worry about it," my friend tried to assure me, but I just gave her a stare.

"Oh, this is something to worry about," I retorted, sighing and running my fingers through my hair.

In that moment, Lena suddenly tilted her head to the side and frowned. "Paige?" she asked cautiously, "Have you looked at your eyes in a mirror lately?"

I pouted. "No," I answered, "Why?"

"I think I see what Seem was saying before," Lena replied, "About you and Jak."

"What's wrong with my eyes?" I demanded as I faced the Wasteland again and watched the same group of Marauders as they drove around looking for anything of significance.

"Nothing," Lena assured me in a quiet voice, "It's just…they look different, that's all. Though not _too _different."

Frowning, I opened a drawer next to me and reached for a small mirror that was in there. When I lifted it up to my face, I saw exactly what Lena was talking about.

"Oh my…" I started, but then trailed off. I had just been about to make the mistake of shouting God's name instead of the Precursors.

"Holy crap!" I opted to gasp instead as I got a good look at my eyes. They were still pretty much the same from before, but one thing was different; there were specks of white in my irises now.

"When the hell did this happen?" I shouted, putting the mirror down and returning to watching out for anything suspicious all around the desert.

Lena shrugged. "Beats me," she replied, and we both fell silent as we got back to work. While I squinted my eyes to block out the sun, I continued to think about what Seem had said about both my eyes and Jak's eyes.

_Hate consumes your eyes, _she had said to Jak, and now that I thought about it, there _was_ something about his eyes that gave away that he had been touched by Dark Eco. They were a much darker blue than they were from the few times I had watched Tracy and Alana play _The Precursor Legacy._ And now my eyes apparently said something about me. But what?

* * *

><p>By the time the afternoon rolled around, Lena took over, as promised, and I went to go find Jak and Daxter. Neither Kleiver nor Damas had any missions for us at the moment, which was a relief after hunting down Wasteland Metal Heads the previous night. When I continued walking towards the beach, I spotted the demolition duo as they just sat by the water and gazed out to the horizon. I tried to be as quiet as possible as I tiptoed towards them in order to sit down next to them.<p>

"There you are, toots!" Dax suddenly greeted as he whirled around, "Why were you sneakin' up on us like that?"

"I didn't want to disturb you," I explained, sitting next to Jak.

"Hey, Jak," I began, "Do you notice anything about my eyes? Look really carefully."

Jak studied me for a minute as he narrowed his eyes to focus better. "You've got white in your eyes," he said, "I noticed it back in the arena, when I…changed." Of course! A while back, he had told me what it was like to be Dark Jak. His senses were much sharper, it seemed.

"You _noticed _it?" I echoed, "Why didn't you say something?"

"I thought you saw it," he replied with a smirk on his face, "They're your eyes."

"Very funny," I growled as I punched him in the shoulder, "Maybe they weren't as noticeable before." We quieted down as we turned back to the body of water in front of us.

"How long have you guys been sitting here?" I asked.

"A few hours," Jak responded.

"We've been out enjoying the sun!" Daxter added happily.

I laughed. "I'm glad," I said to them, and I continued to stare at the horizon.

"So what do you think of that face back in the desert last night?" Jak asked.

I sighed and shook my head. "I don't know," I admitted, "I want to say that wasn't him. It just couldn't have been." I buried my face into my hands.

"Paige?" Jak continued, "You don't feel guilty again, do you?"

I lifted my gaze up to his. "What?" I spat, "No!"

"Are you sure?" Dax piped up from the teen's shoulder.

"Of course!" I exclaimed, "I can't believe you would think I feel guilty over some bastard!"

"Well, I don't know with you sometimes," Jak muttered, "After the Dark Warrior Program…"

Suddenly forgetting all about last night's incident, I glared at Jak and moved my hand over my Blaster Gun. "Say that again," I dared him, "I thought we put that behind us."

"We did," Jak agreed, "But that doesn't mean I'll ever forget it."

"Just like I'll never forget you comparing me to Praxis and Erol."

"Uhh, guys?" Daxter piped up, "Maybe you should cool it right about now."

Daxter was right. We needed to stop while we still could, but once Jak started getting angry, there was almost no stopping him. "I thought you were going to let that go," the blond renegade replied, smirking. Sure, he was a lot less angry than he had been during the last adventure, but I could tell it would always be there, even if it was buried.

"I was until you accused me of feeling guilty over Erol," I said to him.

"I didn't-you know what? I'm not going to fight with you over this. Let's go, Dax." With that, the two of them got up and left.

"Nobody asked you to fight, Jak!" I shouted after him, "I didn't!" But they both continued to walk away, and I sighed.

_I do NOT feel guilty over Erol, _I reassured myself, _That's crazy! He used me and manipulated me for two years! Why the hell should I feel guilty? _

Sighing, I slipped my boots off as I began wading in the water. It felt so good on my feet, so I decided to go a little further up to my knees. I had to admit this part of the Wasteland was nice. If only I could stay here forever!

"Watching for the Day Star?" a voice asked from behind me, and I turned to see Seem approaching me by herself.

"Sorry, Seem," I apologized, albeit in a harsh voice, "But I'm not in the mood for your insults right now." Not after getting into a minor fight with Jak, anyway.

Seem shook her head and moved to stand next to me. "You assume the worst, Short Ears," she replied in her usual calm voice.

"_Paige_," I said insistently, "It's _Paige_!"

Seem faced me after I said that.

"By the way," I continued, "When you said I was a bigger threat than I realized…what did you mean by that? Did you mean in an end of the world sort of way?"

"Between the hero's darkness and your knowledge, you should know the answer to that already," Seem hissed, waving a hand like she always did, "My monks do not take kindly to your presence."

"I think you've made that pretty clear," I replied, but Seem interrupted me.

"You must forget this knowledge, Short Ears," the monk warned in an ominous voice, "My monks will aid you in this task."

"Are you talking about the Precursors?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips, "If so, I've only picked things up from what I've read in books in the library."

To my surprise, Seem shook her head. "This goes beyond just reading a book," she explained, "This is something deeper than that. You have no business interfering with the Golden Order of the Precursor Monks!"

I widened my eyes in a sudden realization as I backed away from Seem. _Now _I knew why she was being unfriendly to me, and it wasn't for the same reason she didn't like Jak. "I see what this is all about," I growled, "You think I'm threatening the secrecy of your order, aren't you?" Seem didn't answer, but she looked away, which confirmed my suspicions.

"Well, let me tell you something, Seem," I continued, "I don't know what you're talking about. You don't know anything about me. I'm just a normal girl trying to deal with being banished." Fortunately, my communicator beeped, and I saw it was Damas.

"_Paige, this is Damas,_" he announced, "_Meet me, Jak, and Daxter at the Palace. I have something to discuss with all of you._"

"I'll be right there," I replied, hanging up and hurrying away from the beach. As I made it back to dry land, I turned around to see Seem still staring up at the Day Star. She then glanced over her shoulder and just watched me as I ran all the way to the Palace.

* * *

><p>By the time I got to the Throne Room, I saw Jak, Daxter, and Damas already standing there. I moved to stand next to Jak, who just narrowed his eyes at me. It appeared he hadn't forgotten our minor spat from earlier, before…well, before Seem's revelation to me.<p>

"Once again, you must test your fighting skills in the arena," the King of Spargus announced, "Face down your fears, defeat those who oppose you, and we will see if your skills are of use to us. The purity of the arena is our only guide!"

"Another arena fight?" I piped up, "That's why we're here?"

"I will not be as lenient this time," Damas continued, standing in front of me at his intimidating height, "You must each fight your own battles. Only then we will see how you really fare on your own."

Daxter didn't seem too thrilled with the idea. "Excuse me... Mr. Sand King," he began after he cleared his throat, "Yes, I'd like to place a complaint. We've been training hard. My feet are killing me, and I think I'm getting a hangnail. So maybe I'll just sit this one out..."

"Enough talk!" Damas boomed as he threw a new gun mod at Jak, "The arena awaits!" He pointed to the exit, and we turned and left so that we could go. Jak and I didn't say anything at first until he broke the silence.

"Good luck in the arena," was all he said.

"Thanks," I replied in a low voice, "You too." There was no sense in getting into another fight. We needed to be there for each other, not ready to kill each other.

"Good luck, newbies," we heard Kleiver also said as we passed by him on the stairs leading into the arena, but for some reason, he looked disappointed. Why, I didn't know.

By the time we arrived in the arena again, we heard the crowd roaring again. "So, who's first?" I asked.

"I guess I'll go first," Jak decided as he readied his guns and marched onto the platform. I watched with wide eyes as he lowered to the arena itself and began the battle.

* * *

><p><em>As soon as I made it down to the arena itself, a few opponents started jumping out of the holding cells that were suspended above the lava pit, and I broke the few boxes that were in front of me as I collected Dark Eco for myself. Now, I could change, just like I had during the first arena fight, and that was what I did. I could feel the familiar heat from the Dark Eco traveling through my veins as my dark side took over. The crowd cheered even louder as I began using the Dark Eco to kill all my opponents. That was all that was on my mind in this state: going for the kill. <em>

_A few times, the platforms disappeared, forcing me to jump to another one as the previous one sank underneath the lava. Up above, Paige was still on the ledge as she watched me fight to the death. To be honest, I was surprised I hadn't tried to kill her in my changed state, especially since I had so many opportunities to do so. I remembered the first time she saw me like this back in the Pumping Station. She finally got a glimpse of the being she had helped to create. As I continued to kill more of the warriors trying to attack me, I had to wonder if she really felt guilty over Erol's death. I told her not to, but I never knew with her sometimes. She felt guilty over the Dark Warrior Program, so that had to count for something. _

_Kleiver. He asked me if I could trust her. Wait a minute…_

_Suddenly, I felt myself snap out of my other side, and I whipped out my Blaster Gun as I began to shoot at the remaining warriors. Some of them fell in the lava once the platforms disappeared, but I continued to shoot and run as I got closer to winning the fight. Up above, Damas was also leaning on the edge of his seat in anticipation. _

_"Jak!" Dax shouted from my shoulder, and I felt one of the warriors cut me across the stomach with his sword. With that, I raised the Blaster Gun and shot him just as the battle ended. The crowd cheered even louder now, and I sighed as I climbed onto the platform again and waited for it to stop in front of Damas and Pecker again. _

_"Nice fight, Jak!" Paige yelled from the side as she waved at me. _

_"You forgot Orange Lightning!" Daxter shouted back to her, but she just waved again and turned to face Damas. _

_"I can't believe you two are still alive!" Pecker gasped. _

_"Yeah!" Dax replied sarcastically, "What a surprise!" I smirked to myself. _

_"Damas and I are very impressed," Pecker continued. _

_"So am I," Paige called out from her stand, "Even if you're annoyed with me." _

_"Thanks, Paige!" I thanked her in a neutral tone of voice, but Dax didn't look too happy with the moncaw's words. _

_"Hey, feather butt!" he shouted, "Who appointed you king?" _

_"He did!" Pecker replied, pointing to Damas, "Well, almost. Kind of a semi-king, you know. You should see our sleeping quarters and his harem of love birds... oooh... I never get any sleep these days. Hee hee... it's good to be the king, no?" _

_"I don't see no crown on that fat feather head!" _

_"You want a crown? I'll crown you! Don't make me come down there from this perch." _

_"Stop it!" Paige cried, but neither one of them listened to her. _

_"I've got a perch for ya, birdie, right here! Twirl on it!" Daxter stuck his middle finger out, and the crowd began to whisper all around us. _

_"That's it!" Pecker snapped, "It's go time!" _

_"Bring it on, bird brain!" _

_"ENOUGH!" Damas suddenly boomed, stopping Dax and Pecker from getting into another fight, "If I wanted you to fight, I would have commanded it! You did... very well, Jak. You make me proud... that our training program is so good. Here is your second Battle Amulet and a new Weapon Mod. One more arena win, and you will be a true Wastelander!" He seemed unsure of himself as he said this, but I just shrugged and accepted the new Weapon Mod, the Beam Reflexor, all the same. _

_"You have completed the battle," Damas is announced, "Your friend will be next." He gestured to Paige, who gulped as she stepped out onto the platform to complete the second arena fight. I was still annoyed with her from before, but I hoped she would pass the test so that I could ask her more about it. I also didn't want her to die. _

_"Good luck!" I said to her as she went down to begin the fight. _

* * *

><p>Jak had completed the second fight. He had won his second Battle Amulet, and now, it was my turn. I gulped and tried to calm myself down. After watching my friends fight and win, I felt a lot of pressure on me. <em>If they can do it, <em>I reminded myself, _So can you. _

_Bam! _Glancing over to my left, I noticed more warriors began to leap out and attack me from all ends. Since Jak wasn't there to help me out this time, I knew I would have to defend myself. Out of habit, I switched to the Scatter Gun due to the crowd control situation I was in.

"You can do it, Paige!" I heard Daxter shout from where he and Jak were standing, and I glanced up at them for a second as I reloaded my weapon.

The familiar alarms from before rang again, and I quickly hopped over to the next fighting square just as the one I had been standing on sank into the lava, taking some of the warriors with it. I closed my eyes for a second as the crowd cheered, and I felt my stomach turn.

_Slice! _"Ouch!" I gasped as I glanced down at my arm, where a long cut was extending from my shoulder to my elbow. The crowd roared again, and I knew I would have to get Green Eco for it once I got out of here. _If _I got out of here.

I continued to shoot with my other arm as the warriors became more aggressive in their fighting style. As I continued to shoot, as well as throw in whatever punches and kicks I could, I suddenly heard Erol's voice in my head as I remembered something he had said to me a long time ago.

"_What are you even doing here on this track, Paige?" _he had asked when Jak was helping me train to race in the Class One race, "_You don't stand a chance in the race._"

"Paige!" Dax shouted at me, and at the last minute, I noticed lava was spitting out of some cracks in the floor.

"Crap!" I hissed, climbing over to the next square as that one disappeared. Now, I was down to three enemies, so I went back to using the Blaster Gun. I hoped to get a Vulcan Fury soon. I missed that weapon a little bit.

I was surprised a few minutes later when I finally managed to pass my test. My arm was killing me, but I directed myself back to the platform and took it up to where Damas, Pecker, Jak, and Daxter were. I wordlessly held up my injured arm, as well as my Scatter Gun, and Damas nodded.

"Congratulations, Paige," he congratulated me, "I didn't think you'd be able to crawl out alive, either, but you proved me wrong. Here is a new Weapon Mod for you as well, your Second Battle Amulet, and some Green Eco bandages to heal that cut." He tossed all three items to me, which I caught with both my hands. From next to him, Kleiver was fuming now, but I grinned, thanked Damas, and walked off the platform back to where Jak and Daxter were.

"Nice fighting," Jak complimented.

"Thanks," I thanked him, nodding curtly as we left the arena.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Day Star was getting closer. Seem could feel it as she continued to stare at it from the Monk Temple. She hated to think what would happen if it grew any brighter than it already was. <strong>_

**The hero and Short Ears should not have come here, **_**she thought to herself as she folded her arms. **_

_**Paige. The girl with the short ears was named Paige, and the hero was Jak. Seem was aware of that, but she didn't feel that they deserved to be called by their real names. Not while she thought they would make things worse. **_

_**The monk sighed as she thought about her conversation with Paige on the beach. She shook her head as she thought about how the short-eared girl was a fool. How could she not know what Seem had been referring to earlier? The Golden Order of the Precursor Monks wouldn't rest until something was done about Paige and Jak. **_

_**Suddenly, her communicator rang, and she raised it to her ear. "Hello?" she began. **_

_**"I've arrived at the Temple," an acquaintance, Count Veger, replied from the other end, "Meet me outside. I am ready to discuss something very important with you." **_

_**"Is this about the favor you were asking about the other night?" Seem inquired. **_

_**"Yes. This is urgent. We must discuss it now." **_

_**"Yes," the monk echoed, hanging up and going to meet Count Veger outside. She wondered how this was going to be rewarding for her, and she also wondered if it had to do with the newcomers. All she could do was wait for the answers.**_


	8. Lectures and Secrets

Next chapter is here! Thanks again to everyone who's been supporting this! I love writing out the different chapters. :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs, minor gameplay alterations, and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

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><p><em><strong>Two days later…<strong>_

I could still feel my arm throb slightly as I woke up after a long two days. As I gathered up all my belongings, I wondered how all our friends were doing in Haven City, as well as if I would ever get to drive out into the desert with Lena. Hopefully, I would get to learn a little more about her.

"Hey there," I greeted Jak cautiously as I ran into him in the living room, "How's your stomach? Still holding up after all this?"

Jak glanced down at himself and sighed. "It's fine," he replied, "Though why Damas didn't give me Green Eco like he did for you, I don't know."

I glanced away for a minute. We hadn't spoken to Damas or Kleiver for the last couple of days, so there was no way of knowing.

"Paige?"

I faced him again. "Yeah?" I asked.

"Did Kleiver tell you anything about us?"

I sat down across from him. "Like what?" I replied.

"Anything that would give you a reason not to trust us."

"Now that you mention it, he did," I explained, "He told me you guys didn't want me to stay in the city, as well as that you were planning your strategies for the arena." I cocked my head to the side.

"Why?" I added a second later, "Did he tell you something about me?"

"He just asked if we could trust you. I have to know: did you tell him anything about…" He trailed off there.

"The DWP?" I finished for him, and he nodded as he closed his eyes.

"No," I said, shaking my head, "I didn't think that was his business. He asked me if I'd handled Dark Eco before, though, and I guess that gave him leverage to say that stuff to you guys. I don't know how he figured out that I've been around Dark Eco, though. Or maybe he made a good guess."

"Let's go ask him," Jak decided, "I think he's been trying to plant seeds of doubt in our minds." Getting up from the couch, we both ventured outside so that we could confront Kleiver. Now that Jak mentioned it, Kleiver may have been doing exactly that, especially after I noticed he looked disappointed after the arena fight yesterday.

By the time we found Kleiver, we noticed he was standing by another one of his vehicles, labeled the Dune Hopper. _Cool, _I thought for a minute. "Admiring one of your other toys?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

"I value me vehicles," Kleiver retorted. Jak and I continued to advance on him as Daxter grinned to himself.

"Kleiver," Jak began, "You've been trying to turn us against each other, haven't you?"

Kleiver looked surprised for a minute before he smirked. "You have!" I cried, pointing at him, "We know you don't like us, but why would you do that?"

"You two are always gettin' along, eh?" Kleiver replied, "I just thought it'd might be fun to watch you two fight against each other in the arena."

Jak, Daxter, and I all glanced at each other. _Really? _I thought, _That's what his motives were? _

"There's still one more fight," Kleiver continued, "You'll be in the right mood by then." He chuckled to himself.

"Anyway, I just got a call now. Damas has a job for us, but I'm no babysitter, so stay out of my way!"

"Jak and Paige aren't afraid of you!" Daxter piped up for the first time since all this started, "Are ya, guys?"

"Never," I assured him, shaking my head.

"If you knew what was happening out there," Kleiver said, "You'd be afraid, all right."

"What's going on here?" another voice interrupted, and we all turned to see Damas enter the garage.

"Hello, Damas," I greeted, bowing slightly to show respect.

"Nothin', your lordship," Kleiver assured him, "Just offering Jak, Paige, and the little one here some healthy advice." He chuckled again.

In that moment, Jak suddenly glanced at me before looking down at the scar on his stomach. For the most part, the cut had healed with some Green Eco we had stored in our apartment. Damas seemed to take notice of that, too.

"It has come to my attention that you two were fighting before the arena challenge two days ago," he announced. I looked away. How'd he find that one out?

The King of Spargus turned his attention to Jak, but I somehow knew I was going to eventually get a lecture, too. "And that scar on your stomach brings me to another point," he continued, putting his hand on the renegade's shoulder, "You have a reputation for being rash. Didn't your father ever tell you to pick your battles wisely?"

_Damas, no! _I thought to myself as I buried my face into my hands. I could also see Daxter frantically waving his paw and shaking his head. The subject of Jak's parents had always been a touchy subject, apparently.

"I didn't know my father," Jak growled, shoving Damas's hand off his shoulder, folding his arms, and turning away from the older man.

Damas seemed surprised for a minute before he continued. "My point is, sometimes, you face your enemies head on, and sometimes, you wait until his weakness is revealed. Patience is a warrior's greatest weapon. Do you understand?"

_Looks like he's stepping in as a father figure, _I thought as Jak considered the King's words. He nodded, and Damas looked relieved.

"Jak, I want you and Kleiver to go into the desert and herd a group of lizards into a waiting transport. We must prepare for whatever lies ahead. I need all the resources we can gather."

"No problem," Jak replied, "I'm good with animals." Daxter growled a little bit.

"You should be getting to the watchtower," Damas announced, throwing a glance in my direction, "Come. I'll take you there." Nodding, I began to follow him back into the city as Jak and Daxter climbed into the Sand Shark.

"I'll see ya out there, _chum_," Kleiver said, chuckling as we all stopped to stare at him. _He's crazy sometimes, _I thought as I shook my head and ran to go catch up with Damas.

Once we were back in the city, I cleared my throat and glanced up at Damas. "If you don't mind my asking," I began, "How did you find out that Jak and I had an argument before the arena fight?"

"My monks told me about it," Damas replied, "Seem said she saw you two on the beach."

I balled my hands into fists. "Seem _would _see something like that," I mumbled, "She and I have had problems since day one. She doesn't like Jak, either. She's been trying to get us to leave the city."

"She is very protective of her monks and her mission."

"Doesn't give her a right to treat us like garbage," I mumbled, "She's always making comments about my ears. I know they're different, but still…" I glanced away from Damas as I said this.

"Your ears are noticeably different," the King agreed, "Is there a reason for that?"

"I'm not from around here," I explained while trying not to give anything away about my true origins, "It was almost like a whirlwind chain of events that I ended up arriving in Haven City."

"I see," was all Damas said as he clamped his hands behind his back, "There is something else I wanted to talk to you about as well." I raised my eyebrows in anticipation.

"I've noticed that you've been on edge ever since we brought you to the city. You shouldn't always let everybody get to you. That is how they smell your fear. Never let them see you sweat. Understand?"

Between Erol, Veger, and Seem all bothering me, I had never thought about that, but it made sense once he mentioned it. "You're right," I said as I took a deep breath, "I'm sorry if I've upset your monks in any way. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of being banished." I was sure Damas knew exactly how that felt, but he would never tell me.

"We will see if you have learned anything over time," Damas decided, "Lena's waiting for you at the tower." I nodded and walked away so that I could go to my job.

* * *

><p>By the time I got to the tower, however, I found someone else sitting in my usual seat. "Lena?" I asked, "What's going on?"<p>

"I've asked someone else to cover for us now," Lena explained, "You and I are taking a drive into the desert, like I promised."

"We are?" I asked, feeling excitement course through me.

"Yep. Kleiver, Jak, and Daxter spotted more Marauders than usual just outside the city while they were driving to go rally up those wild Leapers. We're going to check it out. Think you can handle it?"

"Yeah!" I cried, "Let's go!"

And with that, we grabbed the Tough Puppy and readied our weapons as we drove out into the desert.

"I hope these Marauders aren't too vicious," I hoped, "Why did Jak, Daxter, and Kleiver have to take the more dangerous cars?"

"They're going deeper into the desert, that's why," my friend responded, "Let's go." I checked my Blaster Gun as I let Lena take over the wheel.

"So," I piped up over the loud engine twenty minutes later, "You knew Krew in Haven City, huh?"

"That's right," Lena confirmed.

"Did you work for him?"

"I used to come out here and bring him back artifacts that I found. He always said the sweet items would go through him." _Yeah, I remember him telling me and Jak that, _I thought to myself.

"Does that mean you knew Sig, too?" I asked.

"_Sig?_" Lena cried, "Yeah! I knew him, too! He was always a mystery, though. He never said why he was in Haven City. He and I went on artifact runs together, but he was very hush hush about some things."

"You seem awfully happy out here," I noted, "You didn't seem sad when you told us you were kicked out of Haven."

"Haven?" Lena echoed, "HA! The day that city burns to the ground will be the day I rejoice. I hated living there. I'm glad I got to come out here."

"It's different now, though," I tried to reason, "Ashelin Praxis is on the throne now. She's doing a much better job than her father ever did."

"It wasn't Ashelin I had issues with," Lena assured me, "She was always one of the nicer ones. It was…" She trailed off as she suddenly widened her eyes and gasped.

"Look out!" she shouted, and I ducked my head as a few bullets suddenly grazed the side of our car.

"Shit," I hissed as I reloaded my Blaster Gun and began to shoot at the Marauders that were trying to hurt us.

"Careful!" Lena shouted, "You shoot, I'll drive!"

"_What?_" I spat, but Lena was already backing the car up as she turned to take us back to Spargus.

"Just do it!" she snapped, and nodding, I got up on my knees, faced the Marauders, and began to shoot as they opened fire on us. I could only imagine this was what Jak and Daxter had to go through whenever they drove through the desert.

"Come on, come on," Lena mumbled, "Almost there." At this point, the gate going back into Spargus was just appearing in our view. Lena stepped on the gas pedal even more as I shot and reloaded my weapon. We would be safe back in the city; the Marauders wouldn't think about returning to Spargus. We would get back, warn the Spargus Army about this, and then return to the watchtower.

Suddenly, I felt the Tough Puppy shake as I heard a loud gunshot. The car suddenly flipped over, and I felt myself fly out of my seat and into the sand next to me. On the other side, Lena was yelping as she landed on the ground as well. "Lena!" I shouted, "Lena, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she replied, "Are you?"

"Yeah! Are the Marauders gone?"

"I don't know."

I took a deep breath and began to stand up when I suddenly felt someone wrap a cloth around my nose and mouth.

"Mmmm!" I mumbled, "Get off me!" I struggled violently as my attacker yanked my head back, and I hoped I wouldn't snap my neck in the process.

"Paige!" Lena shouted, but I heard a _thud _as someone knocked my friend unconscious.

"_Lena!_" I tried to scream from behind the cloth, but the person placed a blindfold around my eyes, and I found I was getting dizzy the more I struggled against the cloth. _Jak, _I thought, _Daxter._ With that, I felt my eyes close as I fainted from the lack of oxygen.

* * *

><p><em>"Piece of cake, baby!" Dax shouted as soon as he was finished getting the last wild Leaper to go back in the pen. From where he stood, Kleiver looked impressed. I still couldn't believe he had tried to get me and Paige to fight against each other in the arena. Sure, she got under my skin sometimes, but we were friends for the most part. <em>

_"Oh yeah!" Daxter added, "That's right!" _

_"I have to admit, you got some talent, kid_," _Kleiver admitted_, "_Have another one of me vehicles, ya earned it." He gestured to the Dune Hopper as he said this. _

_"Damn straight!" Dax replied as I rolled my eyes good-naturedly, "Would it be too much to ask for a foot rub?" _

_Kleiver growled, and I hoped he wasn't going to change his mind about giving us the Dune Hopper. "Nope, didn't think so," Daxter said. _

_I chuckled, but then frowned when I suddenly got the feeling that something was wrong. "Dax?" I asked him, "Do you feel that?" _

_"Feel what, pal?" I was referring to a change in the air. The winds were getting stronger, and I could feel a few grains of sand hit my face. _

_"I smell a storm coming," Kleiver muttered, "We better get back to the city." With that, he climbed into the Sand Shark and decided to take that back while we grabbed the Dune Hopper. Kleiver was right; there was definitely a storm coming, so we drove as fast as we could to get back to Spargus. _

_"Looks like Damas is calling us," Dax whispered as I glanced down at my communicator and saw that Damas was trying to reach us. _

_"Come on!" I yelled, and we sprinted to the Palace as fast as we could. _

_By the time we were finished taking the elevator up to the throne room, we found Damas speaking into a communicator. "Attention all people of Spargus!" he announced, "A large storm is heading our way! Prepare the city!" He hung up and turned to face me. _

_"Jak, there are 4 Wastelanders out there who still have not reported in. I want you to go out and find them. Do whatever it takes to bring them back!" _

_I nodded and motioned to Daxter as we returned to the garage and grabbed the Sand Shark this time. I was surprised Dax didn't complain about having to go back out into the storm. We both remembered what Damas had told us before we went on our first artifact run. _

_"If you get caught in the storms, they will tear the flesh from your very bones," he had said. Both Dax and I shuddered at the thought. _

_"I hope these guys aren't too far away," Daxter said hopefully as we drove around the desert in order to find these four Wastelanders. _

_We found the first three with no problems, despite the fact that the storm was getting worse. I only hoped we could get back in time before the sands started becoming destructive. _

_"I wonder if Paige is inside the apartment during all this," Dax piped up as we began driving around to look for the last Wastelander. _

_"I'm sure she is," I assured him, but even I noticed that we hadn't heard from her all day. _

_It took a little bit longer to find the last Wastelander, but when we did, we were in for a surprise. _

Poor guy, _I thought as I spotted him. In his hand was a Dark Eco Crystal, which must have killed him sometime before we arrived. We both sighed as I picked up the crystal, and I shook my head as I glanced at Daxter. _

_"Jak! Daxter!" a familiar voice cried, and when we turned, we saw someone else who was familiar to us. _

_"Lena?" I gasped as Lena stood up and brushed some sand off her body. _

_"What are you doing out here?" Daxter asked. _

_"Those bastards who attacked us must have dumped me here to die!" Lena snapped, "Paige and I were taking a routine drive through the desert when the Marauders attacked us. Then somebody grabbed Paige and took off into the Wasteland with her! They must have knocked me out and tossed me out here so that I wouldn't know where they took her!" _

_"Paige is missing?" I shouted over the wind. _

_"Yeah!" Lena confirmed, "We've got to find her!" _

_Before any of us could move, we suddenly heard and felt rumbling, and when we glanced up, we spotted a Dark Satellite hovering above our heads not unlike the one Seem and her monks had been studying. "What the hell is that?" Lena demanded. _

_"We've got to kill it!" I yelled, "Now!" And with that, we both whipped out our guns as the Satellite began to attack. It created a vortex of lightning as it spun around us, and Lena and I huddled together so that we wouldn't get hit by any of the bolts. Once that attack was over, the Satellite crashed to the ground and sent out shock waves, and we quickly jumped in the air to avoid them. _

_From where we stood, we could see a weak spot right on the top, so that was where the two of us began shooting the most. "Did you see who gagged Paige?" I asked Lena as she reloaded her Eco Pistol. _

_"No," the Wastelander replied as she dodged another attack from the Dark Satellite, "I got knocked out before I could get a good look." I nearly missed getting hit by another shock wave, and I reloaded my Blaster Gun once I was out of harm's way. _

_"Why were you thrown out of Haven?" Dax piped up from my shoulder. _

_"It's not important right now," Lena hissed, "Right now, we have to kill this thing and find Paige!" I was already on top of that, though. I decided to use the Beam Reflexor to see if that would help bring the Satellite down even more. _

_After a few more shots from both me and Lena, the Satellite hovered in the air for a second before finally exploding in a flash of purple and black. _

_"Let's get back to the city, Jak!" Daxter cried. _

_"Come on!" I shouted to Lena, and the three of us hurried back to the Sand Shark as I spun the car around and began to drive back to Spargus. _

_"Hold on tight," I warned Lena as I floored it, speeding past the Marauders as we raced against the storm to get back to Spargus City. The car flipped over a few times, but I managed to pick it back up again, and after another minute or so, we made it back to the garage. _

_"Come on!" Lena shouted, "Hurry up! The storm's getting closer!" _

_We dashed through the gate and back into the city, where we noticed all the streets were empty. "My apartment is this way," Lena announced, and we soon arrived there, closing and locking the door behind us just as the storm began to whip through Spargus. _

_All three of us breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Thank Mar that's over!" Dax chirped, "So now what?" _

_"We have to find Paige," I announced to the others, "But where could she be?" We all glanced out the window as the storm became more ferocious. _

* * *

><p>How much time had passed?<p>

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally felt myself wake up, even though everything was dark due to the blindfold that had been tied around my head. The cloth had been removed from my nose and mouth, thank the Precursors. But where was I?

The last thing I remembered was crashing into the sand just outside of Spargus when someone had grabbed me and knocked me unconscious. Lena. What was happening to her? Did Jak and Daxter know I was missing?

I tried to feel my surroundings in order to take a guess at where I was. I was on a floor. Yeah, that was it. A cold floor. Everything sounded empty, almost as if there was supposed to be silence.

I then turned to my sense of smell. I could smell incense and candles. _Okay, _I thought to myself, _A cold floor, incense and candles, and silence. Maybe I'm in a place of worship of some kind? _

In the meantime, I raised my hands to the back of my head in an attempt to find the knot in order to untie the blindfold. As I was doing that, however, I suddenly felt warm hands grab mine. I gasped and jumped at the sudden contact, which made the person laugh. To my relief, he or she untied the knot, and I felt the blindfold fall to the ground next to me as I blinked my eyes to get readjusted to the light.

"That's better, isn't it?" the person asked, and I froze where I was. I _knew _that voice was familiar. Before it could register that I was indeed in a place of worship, I whirled around at my captor.

"You!" I cried, "What are you doing here?"

"The monks told me you were here," Count Veger replied, "It's good to see you again, Paige. You and I have a lot to talk about."


	9. The Temple

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter! Here's the next one! :D

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs, plot points, and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>"Would you like something to drink?" Veger asked as he reached for two glasses and began pouring wine for himself. He had found it in a cabinet not too far away from where I had first woken up.<p>

"This is the very wine of the Precursors," he added when I didn't respond right away.

"No, thank you," I declined, shaking my head. Veger shrugged and set one of the glasses aside as he raised his own glass to his lips. I just sat across from him and drummed my fingers on the table as I felt anxious.

"Where's the Dark Eco Freak?" the Count asked in a calm voice.

"_Jak _is…out," I replied, looking away. Speaking of Jak, where was he?

Veger chuckled heartily. "Of course," he said, "And he has no idea you're here?"

"You should know," I fumed, "You knocked the only witness unconscious!"

"Ahh, yes. Perhaps it is better this way." He poured a little more wine for himself while I just narrowed my eyes.

"Okay, Veger," I began, "You blindfolded me and dragged me all the way out here. What do you want from me?"

Veger cleared his throat. "It is quite surprising to me that you and Jak have managed to find your way to Spargus City," he quipped, "You can't imagine how shocked I was when my monks told me."

"How'd you know this city was out here?" I asked, "And how do you know the monks?"

"Please. Let's not jump to these questions before the appropriate time," Veger insisted, "I'm here to discuss something important with you." I crossed my arms and watched as he drank a little more wine before smiling at me.

"I'm sure you remember this?" He slapped a book down in front of me, and when I peered at the cover, I saw it was _Unlocking the Secrets of the Precursors._

"Back to that, are we?" I growled, "Look, I already said no. Can't you just let it go?"

"But Paige," Veger began smoothly, "Think of the rewards you'll get from this. You'll finally understand the creators of this world. You'll be guided by a glorious light. I will be able to be a mentor to you in any situation."

"_You_?" I asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow, "Be a mentor to _me_? How is that going to help me?"

"Under my guidance," Veger replied, lowering his voice to a stage whisper, "You'll never be looked down upon because of your ears ever again. You will be blessed by a power greater than anything you could have ever imagined." He reached across the table and squeezed my hand lightly. _What the fuck? _I thought, glancing from my hand to him, _Is this guy crazy? _

"All I ask is for something in return from you, Paige," he continued before I could respond. I still didn't say anything as I waited for him to get to the point.

"What did the Precursors tell you?" he asked.

At this, I widened my eyes and pulled my hand away from his. "What?" I gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"You heard me. What did the Precursors pass onto you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I snapped.

"If I recall correctly from the war last year, you were given a special mission from the Precursors themselves," Veger explained, smirking, "Does that ring a bell?"

I didn't know what to say at first. Of course it rang a bell for me! After Kor had tried to kill me in Haven Forest, the Precursors had given me a mission to help Jak, the lost heir to Haven City, in order to repay him for saving my life. In addition to that, I had to let go of my connections to Erol and the Krimzon Guard. I remembered attempting to rescue the Kid, Young Jak, as well as aiding the older Jak in taking out Metal Kor. The Precursor from the Precursor Stone had told me that I had completed my mission once the Metal Head Leader was vanquished.

"How did you find out?" I asked in a low voice as I looked away.

"I've heard things through the grapevine, so to speak," Veger answered as he leaned back in his chair, "And your eyes gave it away as well."

"What about them?" I hissed.

The Count held up _Unlocking the Secrets of the Precursors. _"Did you know that when the Precursors gave you your mission, your eyes gained those white specks? That's a sign that you have communicated with them, no matter what way you did so. You are eligible to enter any place where the Precursors are worshipped now. Places that regular people can't go."

I was surprised at this revelation, for I didn't think that was the reason for the specks at all. I hadn't noticed them during the first war, but I guessed they grew over time. However, something was bothering me. "But if that's the case," I reasoned, "Then how come Jak doesn't have the same specks? He's talked to Precursor statues and the one from the Precursor Stone. I'd say that counts."

Veger narrowed his eyes at me. "He's been touched by Dark Eco!" he snarled, "It's different for him." I sighed. _There he goes again with his dislike for Dark Eco, _I thought as I shook my head.

I shrugged and leaned back in my seat as well. "Well, sorry, Veger," I apologized insincerely, "I can't help you. That mission I received was to help improve myself."

"Oh, but you can," Veger replied calmly once again, "Why do you think I asked you to join me in the first place?"

I blinked and thought about it for a second. "You wanted to know what I supposedly know," I deduced.

"Smart girl," Veger complimented, and I blushed as I averted my eyes again. _First Seem, and now Veger? _I asked myself, _Why does everyone think I know something that I don't? _

"All you have to do is tell me what the Precursors told you, and I'll never bother you again," Veger vowed, but I knew he was lying. He would never stop bothering me. Or Jak.

"Would you believe me if I said they didn't tell me anything?" I challenged, testing him to see how he would react.

To my surprise, the Count only chuckled. "I would think you were trying to purposely keep me from reaching my goal," he retorted.

"Then that must be exactly what I'm doing," I said, smirking.

"Paige," Veger piped up as he poured himself even more wine, "I don't think you quite understand. You all need my help. I'm the only one that can save us."

_What the hell? _I thought to myself.

"Are you crazy?" I cried, "What's your goal? What are you talking about?"

Before Count Veger could reply, we suddenly heard footsteps. "I see you have woken up, Short Ears," Seem said as she entered the room the two of us were sitting in.

"Yes, she has," Veger piped up before I could say anything, "And she's being stubborn. She will not explain herself."

Seem glared at me, and I returned the scathing look. "I'm not being stubborn," I insisted, "I genuinely don't know any of the Precursors' secrets. You've got to believe me, Seem. I'm not trying to 'breach the secrecy of your order'."

"Then why were you talking to our creators?" Seem asked nonchalantly, "I can see the specks in your eyes. It was the first thing I noticed when you and the hero showed up."

"They were trying to help me!" I cried, my voice echoing around the quiet room, "There were…things I needed to improve about myself, and they wanted me to do something for them. They approached me, not the other way around! I swear that's it!" Seem considered my words for a minute before she turned away from me.

"What about you?" Veger asked, facing the monk as we all got up and left the room, "Have you found anything yet?"

"That is what I was coming to talk to you about," Seem replied once we stepped out over a platform overlooking more of the Monk Temple. I had to admit the temple was beautiful.

"I can try and discover enough secrets in order to get you access into the catacombs," Seem explained, "But it is going to take a while before we monks can carry that out." She looked unsure of herself, and Veger frowned just as we stepped a little bit further out towards the edge. _What is she talking about? _I thought to myself, _Did she speak to Veger about something already? _

"I want no excuses!" he snapped, waving his hands, "You told me this could be done. Now, make it so!"

"But we have so little time," Seem reasoned, "The Day Star approaches. You know what it brings!"

"Unfortunate, yes. We will deal with that as soon as I have full access to the catacombs. Just continue your work, and I'll deal with those idiots in Haven. I promise you will meet your makers!"

Seem widened her eyes, and so did I when I realized what was happening. As Count Veger turned to leave, I stopped the monk and smacked her shoulder. "You made a deal with the devil?" I gasped, "Are you nuts?"

"I have always wanted to meet our creators," Seem explained as we began walking as well, "You could not possibly understand."

Well, she was right in that respect. I wasn't from here. "You're right, I can't," I agreed, "But Seem…_Count Veger? _Really?"

"I've known him from since before the war," Seem explained as we continued to walk, "Once he makes a promise, I know he will go through with it."

"He _is _pretty charismatic," I reluctantly agreed, "He was trying to smooth talk me into joining his cause before. Or maybe you heard all that already."

"I do not understand why you are being so secretive around him. If he can promise me that I will meet my makers, then you should be willing to help him as well."

"He made a lot of promises to me," I told the monk, "Promises that are impossible to keep. I'm not helping him."

"Then stay away from the Monk Temple," Seem ordered in a harsh voice, "You should not have spoken with the Precursors if you only intend to hold out on us." And with that, she was gone, joining up with Veger so that they could continue to talk. I began to fume, but I didn't want to scream in the middle of the temple. Instead, I turned my attention to the Precursor Oracle that was facing away from me. In that moment, something surprising happened.

"It was you," I snapped at the Oracle, "You all did this to me! People hate me now because of your mission from the war last year!" No response. Not that I wanted one, anyway.

"You know what?" I shouted, "Screw you, Precursors!" And with that, I kicked a stray pebble in the general direction of the Oracle and walked out of the Temple.

* * *

><p><em><strong>"It was you," the short-eared girl, Paige Smith, hissed, "You all did this to me! People hate me now because of your mission from the war last year! You know what? Screw you, Precursors!" She kicked a pebble towards the Oracle, and just as she turned to leave, the Precursors just watched from where they stood and shook their heads. <strong>_

_**"Did she just disrespect us?" one of them asked. **_

_**"Yes," another one answered, "And we must punish her accordingly. It's a shame she feels that way. I will have a word with her once she is asleep later tonight." **_

_**"Look!" one more Precursor suddenly spoke up, pointing, "There's the hero!" **_

_**Sure enough, there were Jak and Daxter, standing in front of the Precursor Oracle as they emerged from a hallway behind them. "Hey! It's one of those goober eyed Precursor thingies!" Daxter cried. In that moment, the Precursors decided to bring the Oracle to life in order to speak with the hero. **_

_**"Greetings, great warrior!" the Precursor Oracle began, "Your return brings us great hope. This planet's future is at a critical juncture. The Dark Ones have found your world again, and fate hangs in the balance where the past and the future collide." **_

_**"Do you have any idea what he just said?" Daxter asked, "Speak-a-da-normal-language, okay?" **_

_**"You will need all the power you can muster to survive this terrible test, great one," the Oracle informed Jak, but Daxter cut in. **_

_**"I can handle it," the ottsel said confidently. **_

_**"I was talking to the tall one... shorty!" the Oracle responded, making Daxter frown. **_

_**"Hey!" he snapped. **_

_**As if there were no interruptions, the oracle told Jak, "Look into the light and receive a power, hero." **_

_**Jak cautiously stepped forward and looked into the light, just as the Oracle instructed him to do. Daxter immediately jumped down from his friend's shoulder as a column of light surrounded the renegade. **_

_**"Okay, now you're scaring me!" Daxter cried as the pure, white light that had surrounded Jak suddenly disappeared. The blond teen studied his hands, and a content expression met his face. **_

_**"Dax," Jak gasped in delight, "The Dark Eco! It feels far away. I feel better!" **_

_**"Use this power well, hero," the Oracle advised. **_

_**"Here, let me try something," Jak mused. Daxter stepped back and watched as Jak closed his eyes, called on his new Light Eco, and hovered into the air. His eyes turned white and his body turned a shade of light blue as a humming noise filled the air. A few seconds passed, and then the blue hue around Jak disappeared as he lowered back down to the ground. **_

_**"How are ya feeling, buddy?" Daxter asked as he moved forward once again. **_

_**"I feel all better now," Jak told the ottsel, "I have the power to heal myself with this Light Eco." With that, the two of them turned to leave. **_

_**"So…like…what about Paige?" one of the Precursors asked. **_

_**"I will speak to her and deliver her punishment that way," the other Precursor decided. **_

* * *

><p>By the time I managed to find my way back to what looked like the entrance to Monk Temple, I noticed that Seem and Veger were gone. I guessed Veger was going to let me go. What would happen from there?<p>

"Paige!"

I whirled around to see Jak and Daxter tumbling out of a warp gate to my left. "_Jak?_" I gasped, "_Daxter?_"

"Paige!" Daxter repeated after Jak called my name before.

"Thank the Pre-I mean, thank _Mar _I found you guys!" I shouted, hugging both of them, "You have no idea how harrowing this day's been!"

"We saw you before," Jak informed me, "With Veger and Seem."

I widened my eyes. "You _did?_" I cried, "I didn't see you guys! How'd you get here?"

"We climbed up to the top of the Temple!" Dax said next, "And _then_, the big guy forced me to fly out to the volcano on a glider!"

"I ended up gaining the ability to turn invisible due to the Dark Eco inside of me," Jak finished, "And that's how we ended up here. What about you? What were you doing with Veger and Seem?"

"Lena and I were ambushed by Marauders," I explained as we headed out to the Dune Hopper, "And then Veger grabbed me, blindfolded me, and dragged me out here! He…tried to sway me onto his side, but I said no." I gasped after that.

"Lena!" I yelled, "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Jak reported, "We found her on a mission in the Wasteland and we took her back to Spargus." I breathed a sigh of relief and wiped my forehead.

"Why are the catacombs so important?" Jak continued after telling me about Lena, "Dax and I were wondering before. Maybe he told you something."

I shrugged. "He didn't tell me anything about that," I answered, "That was business between him and Seem."

"Jak also received light powers from the Precursors!" Dax exclaimed, "Show her, big guy!"

"Light powers?" I echoed, and suddenly Jak stopped walking, folded his hands behind his back, and closed his eyes. What I saw was breathtaking.

Out of nowhere, a blue and white light began to glow around Jak as his skin turned blue. He opened his eyes to reveal that they were white. "Whoa!" I gasped, throwing my hands over my eyes in order to block out the light, "That's so cool! Is that Light Eco?"

"You've got it, toots!" Daxter confirmed. Jak continued to stare at me in his Light Jak form before he clutched his head and changed back into his normal self.

"It's balancing out the Dark Eco from the DWP," the renegade explained, taking over the wheel of the Dune Hopper as we returned to Spargus. I wondered if Veger noticed I was gone.

At first, we were silent the whole way back, and I felt slightly sick as Jak used the Dune Hopper to leap into the air over certain chasms. "Toots?" Daxter began, "You and Jak know I've got my hang-ups with the Precursors, but are ya sure ya did the right thing by kickin' that pebble back there? Are you crazy?"

I froze. Of course! If Jak and Daxter had seen me with Veger and Seem, then they must have also seen my little temper tantrum. "Uhh…" I stammered, feeling my cheeks burn in embarrassment, "What do you mean?"

"If there's one thing you should never do," Jak replied ominously, "It's disrespect the Precursors, which is pretty much what you did."

I pushed away my unsettled feelings by laughing harshly. "Oh, what are they going to do?" I asked, "Strike me down with a lightning bolt?"

_Boom!_ Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt appeared and struck very close to my side of the car. "AHH!" I screamed, jumping and grabbing Jak's arm.

"W-w-where the hell did _that _come from?" I asked with a tremor in my voice.

"See?" Jak asked, "That's why you don't do that."

"Oh, please," I scoffed, "Nothing's going to happen." But both of them looked unsure, and I just sighed. After that random lightning bolt, I wasn't sure myself.

"I'm telling you," the renegade quipped, "Never disrespect the Precursors again."

By the time we got back to the city, we found Lena anxiously waiting by the gate. "Paige!" she cried, running over to us, and following that, she wrapped me in a bear hug. I just hugged her back, grateful that Jak and Daxter had found her.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" we cried at the same time.

"You should get some rest," Lena added a second later, nodding in the direction of our apartment, "Thanks for finding her, you two. And me as well." She nodded to Jak and Daxter as she said this.

"That's right!" Dax piped up, "Orange Lightning has saved the day!" We all shared a chuckle at that.

* * *

><p><em>Sleep is good, <em>I thought as my head hit the pillow. It had been a long day, between getting ambushed and then having a long talk with Veger. I closed my eyes and began to dream. However, there was something familiar about these dreams.

Suddenly, I felt myself get pulled down into the darkness to the point where I was in a deep sleep. It scared me for a minute, but at the same time, I wondered what would happen.

"**Paige**," a regal voice I knew all too well spoke up, calling my name out. I ignored it at first until it became more serious.

"**Paige,**" it repeated, "**We are very disappointed in you.**"


	10. Impurity

All right! Sorry for the long wait in updating, but here's the next chapter! Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs, side plots, and minor alterations to the original gameplay are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p><em>Come on, Paige, <em>I chided myself, _Wake up! _In my dream, however, I could see the familiar humanoid appearance of the Precursors themselves.

**You have disrespected us, Paige, **the Precursors reminded me unnecessarily, **Now, you must be punished. **

_I think that lightning bolt trick you pulled back in the desert was punishment enough. _

**After your next arena battle, you must become one with our monks. **

_What? Become one with the monks that hate my guts? No way! Besides, I have a job at the watchtower already. With Lena. _

**You will be released from that job for as long as you need to be with the monks. You should heed our word this time. **

_I don't like this. _

**This will teach you to think before you act. Farewell, young one. **

With that, my eyes snapped open. How much time had passed since I had fallen asleep? I quickly rolled on my side and glanced out the window to see that it was night time.

Suddenly, I heard the door open and slam shut again. "Jak?" I called out, "Daxter?"

"Yeah, it's us!" Jak replied, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I threw the covers off and went to go greet them.

"How are you feeling?" the renegade asked.

I sighed and wiped my forehead. "Better," I told him, "But apparently, the Precursors want me to befriend the monks."

"I told you they were going to punish you," Jak said, smirking, and I swatted his shoulder.

"I'm only human," I joked, "I make mistakes sometimes, too. So yeah, I have to work with the monks now. I bet Seem will _love _that."

"Paint Face will be fine," Dax assured me, waving his paw.

"Anyway," I continued, changing the subject so that I wouldn't have to be reminded of my conversation with Veger, "Where have you two been?"

"Beating things," Daxter chirped, and Jak rolled his eyes and smacked the back of his friend's head.

"What?" I laughed.

"Just ignore him," Jak told me, "We beat Kleiver's top score at the turret by the beach, and he gave us this." He held out a Light Eco Crystal for me to see.

"_And _he said the last arena fight is tomorrow morning!" Dax piped up, and I face-palmed myself.

"Doesn't Damas think we've done enough for this city?" I groaned.

"Well, we have to prove ourselves," Jak reasoned, "We better get to sleep." I nodded and then laid down to go back to sleep, feeling relieved when there were no Precursors this time.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next morning…<strong>_

"Thank Mar this is the final arena fight," I sighed as we walked up the stairs. I assumed Lena already knew I had to do this for Damas.

"Good luck," Jak said to me.

"Thank you," I thanked him, nodding, "Good luck to you, too."

Once again, we heard the crowd roar as we entered Spargus Arena. In front of us were two Vulcan Furies, which made me a very happy camper. "Greetings, brave fighters!" Pecker began, "The one, the only, the greatest highness of all highnesses, the magnificent, eminently..."

"Enough!" Damas snapped, "Just get on with it."

"Thank you!" I shouted up to the King of Spargus as Jak and Daxter chuckled.

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away," Pecker apologized, "Did I mention how fabulous your hair looks?"

"Pecker!" Damas growled.

"Yes, right. Another round of games has been called. This is combat to the death. Good luck, and may the bravest man, or in some cases, animal, win."

"Guess I'll go first this time," I decided, checking to make sure the Vulcan Fury was attached to my gun before descending down to the arena itself.

"Good luck, toots!" Dax cried once I was down in the pit. I gave him a thumbs-up just as the first few opponents leaped out of the crates surrounding the arena.

The first time I had ever used a Vulcan Fury was back in Dead Town when Jak and Daxter had used the Titan Suit, and I remembered getting used to the rapid rate of fire. I was a little startled by it now, but gradually got readjusted to it the more I used it. These enemies were much more aggressive than the other two arena fights. Since this was the last time I had to do this, I figured they would be more of a challenge. I glanced down at the long scar that ran down my arm and shook my head. I wasn't going to let that happen again.

I continued to run and shoot just as I heard the usual alarms ring, signaling that some of the floor would disappear. I glanced around to see where the safe points were, and I climbed on the one closest to me as one of the enemies narrowly missed grabbing my ankle. I took a deep breath as I reloaded the Vulcan Fury and heard the crowd cheer. I waited for the next few seconds before I watched the rest of the arena reappear. Leaping down again, I held up the Vulcan Fury and plowed my way through the next set of enemies. Some of them blocked my melee attacks with their swords, but for the most part, I was able to get rid of all of them in order to complete the challenge. There were a few close calls with their swords, but I watched as the same platform I had used to descend down to this level appeared.

"Wait!" Damas suddenly cried, standing up just as I was getting ready to step onto the platform.

"Something wrong?" I called up to him from my level.

"There is a waiting area to your left," Damas explained, pointing, "I want you to wait in there until Jak completes his test."

"What?" I asked, "Why?"

"Just do it!" Deciding that it was better not to argue with the King of Spargus, I hurried away from the arena and into the waiting area, where I found Kleiver waiting for me.

"_Kleiver?_" I spat, "What are you doing here?"

"Shh," Kleiver shushed me, grinning knowingly about something as Jak and Daxter lowered down to the arena as well.

Jak immediately whipped out his Vulcan Fury as well as he began taking out all his opponents around him, and I found myself cheering him on as he kicked some of them out of the way. At one point, just like in the last battle, one of the bigger men sliced him across the arm, and I gasped from where I was. "Jak!" I cried, but I held my breath as I watched something incredible happen.

Time seemed to stop as Jak suddenly began to glow blue and white. _Light Jak! _I thought to myself as I watched Jak hover in the air while a humming noise echoed from him. _I wonder what's happening, _I said to myself once the light was gone. I craned my neck to get a better view, and that was when I saw that the gash on his arm was gone. "Wow," I muttered under my breath.

Once he heard the alarms, Jak rushed over to the closest square to his position, which was on the other side of the arena. At one point, I saw him glance over in my direction, and I gave him a subtle shrug as I wondered why Damas wanted me to wait here.

When the arena returned, Jak continued his fight as he decided to change into Dark Jak at one point. I held my breath as he ran around much faster than before, just hitting all enemies around him without using the Dark Bomb attack or anything like that. While he did that, I gasped as I suddenly felt Kleiver pat my shoulder.

"You had somethin' to do with his dark side, didn't you?" he whispered into my ear, and I withdrew a little bit.

"How'd you know?" I asked in a low voice as I focused my attention on Jak, who was nearly finished now.

"I saw the look on your face when he changed during the first battle," Kleiver replied, "You looked awfully guilty, eh?"

"Do you enjoy making me feel as uncomfortable as possible?" I asked.

Kleiver shrugged. "I was just curious," he said.

"Well, neither of us would prefer to talk about it," I responded harshly.

"Fine with me," Kleiver retorted nonchalantly, "But it looks like his other side likes you more than his regular self." I glared at Damas's right hand man as I glanced around the arena again. Dark Jak was still out as he finished off the rest of the warriors, and he glanced over and smirked at me in victory again as the crowd cheered. For a minute, I couldn't help but wonder if Kleiver was right about Dark Jak. I just shook my head and watched as Jak and Daxter remained on the arena.

"So why is Damas making me wait here?" I asked Kleiver.

"He wants you and Jak to fight against one more opponent, as well as each other," Kleiver explained, unlocking the gate and pushing me back onto the arena, "I told you I'd be able to get you two to fight each other. Damas figured since you two won your separate challenges, he wanted to see who was stronger out of the two of you." He snickered from behind me, and I rolled my eyes as I went to join my friends as Jak reverted back to his regular self.

"Did you hear?" I asked Jak and Daxter once I caught up to them, "Damas wants us to fight an extra warrior."

"Yeah, he told us before we started our fight," Jak informed me, "And we're supposed to fight each other, too."

"No way," I whispered under my breath, "Let's see about this new warrior, and then we'll figure out what to do after that." Jak nodded tersely, and we readied our weapons as we prepared to face another opponent. We crept around the side of one of the safety boxes, and when we got a good look at our opponent, we were all shocked.

"_Sig?_" Jak and I gasped, glancing at each other and instantly lowering our weapons.

"_Jak? Daxter?_" Sig replied, "_Paige?_"

"Sig!" Dax cried happily.

"Well, don't you three look sorrier than ever!" Sig growled, and I wondered why he wasn't being as friendly as he had been back in Haven City.

"What are you doing here?" Jak asked.

"Honing my skills," Sig said as he simply raised his Peacemaker and pointed it at us, "Let's finish this."

"Wait, time out!" I gasped, jumping a little bit at the sight of the Peacemaker.

"Whoa, come on, Sig," Jak added from next to me, "We're not going to fight you."

"And I'm not going to fight you either, Jak," I assured him as I put my weapon away.

"If we don't fight each other, he'll kill all of us," Sig explained, "The rule of the arena. Sorry, nothing personal." He raised the Peacemaker again and looked like he was about to shoot it.

"Uh oh," Dax stammered from Jak's shoulder as he gulped. I closed my eyes for a minute and grabbed onto Jak's other shoulder as I waited for Sig to finish us off. _Please don't do this, Sig, _I prayed to myself.

However, the longer Sig waited, the less he looked like he would go through with it. I opened one eye, and then the other as Sig finally backed off, dropping the Peacemaker in the process. I found myself involuntarily breathing a sigh of relief.

"_Blasphemy_!" Damas roared from his seat, "One must destroy the other two! Complete the test or face worse pain!" I felt my heart beat as I became more anxious. Damas was even more intimidating than before, and I wondered what worse pain he was referring to. Maybe Lena was wrong about him. Maybe he wasn't as merciful as I had originally thought. I instantly remembered how Jak and I had fought together in the first arena challenge. That time, Damas hadn't commanded us to fight each other, but now that he had, things were different.

"No, Damas," I replied back as firmly as possible.

"I just know I'm going to regret this," Sig growled as he shook his head.

We all glanced up at Damas again, who was leaping to his feet in fury, making my heart zoom up to my throat. "Seize them!" he commanded, and before we could move even a quarter of an inch, half the Spargus army was already leaping down to the arena as most of them grabbed us by the arms and marched us out of the pit.

"Take them back to the Palace!" Damas boomed, and the army hurried us along as we traveled through the city. Many of the other citizens stared at us, and along the way, I spotted Lena.

"Paige!" she cried, rushing over to us, "What happened?"

I shook my head. "Not now," I whispered, "I'll tell you later." She nodded, but then widened her eyes when she caught a glimpse of Sig.

"Sig's back?" she also whispered. I nodded and watched as one of the soldiers approached Lena.

"Stay back!" he ordered, and Lena backed up a few feet before shooting me a sympathetic stare. She nodded and then walked away just as our large group finally made it to the Palace.

"Damas wants you to stay here!" one of the soldiers informed us, "Do not leave the Palace! Got it?"

We all nodded as the army left, and once they were gone, we sat in silence once again. What could we say after that little incident? I sighed as I folded my hands and glanced down at my lap.

Not even Daxter could come up with one of his usual witty comments, and when he was quiet, we all knew the situation was serious. It felt like an eternity as we waited for Damas to get back, and I couldn't help but feel nervous about what he was going to do to us. _I don't know who's scarier, _I thought, _Damas or Praxis? I guess we'll find out._

Fifteen agonizing minutes later, we heard the familiar creaking of the elevator in the corner, and we all looked up as Damas entered the Throne Room. He glared at us to the point where if looks could kill, we would have been dead already. I supposed nothing like this had ever happened in the arena before. I gulped and began to shake a little bit where I stood as Damas stood in front of his throne and slammed his staff onto the ground.

"How dare you three defile the purity of the arena?" Damas snapped, "Sig, your time in Haven City has poisoned you!" Sig looked down, and I briefly wondered what that was all about.

"And you, newcomers!" the angry King continued to rant as he turned his attention to me and Jak, "You two deserve no mercy! I should toss you all into the jaws of the desert! However, Sig, your years of service as our spy in Haven have earned you a chance to redeem yourself. But only this once!" _Sig? _I thought, _A spy? No way! _

"A spy?" Jak and I echoed in unison.

"Just shut up," Sig hissed, "I'll tell you two later."

"There is a nest of Metal-Pedes not too far from here," Damas explained, "They have been harassing our artifact carriers for some time. I want you to drive into the heart of the nest and take out all the creatures you find inside. I'd say good luck... but then luck won't help you." I just folded my arms in annoyance.

"You and Jak will go on that mission," Damas decided, pointing at them before facing me, "You're going to be doing something else, Paige."

"Good luck," we whispered to each other out of Damas's earshot. As Jak, Daxter, and Sig walked out of the Throne Room, I wondered if Sig remembered Lena from sometime before the first war. If we didn't get banished, I knew I would have to ask him about that.

"As for you, Paige," Damas piped up, folding his hands behind his back as he faced me next, "My monks have some business to take care of in the Oasis. I want you to accompany them."

I could have laughed. Joining the monks was exactly what the Precursors wanted me to do. "Is it me or does everyone seem so gung ho about pushing me towards the monks?" I asked.

"Consider this to be your punishment," Damas said, "Now go. They are ready."

Sighing, I wiped my forehead as I exited the Palace.

* * *

><p><em>Sig? A spy? <em>

_ Dax and I couldn't believe it, even as we drove a new vehicle, the Gila Stomper, through the nest of Metal Pedes. We had come too far to be banished now, and we hoped that Damas would change his mind about tossing us out. What was Paige doing as a punishment? _

_ "Keep going, cherries!" Sig shouted as more flying Metal Heads soared over our heads and disappeared into the ground. I lifted my head in time to see a few green eggs that we needed to destroy. There were five of them we needed to take out, and even though this vehicle was good with the guns, it was very slow. _

_ By the time we got to the fifth one, the whole nest began to fill up with green gas. "Let's get out of here!" Dax cried as I turned the Gila Stomper around and tried to navigate my way out of the nest. The gas was getting thicker every second, and Sig began to cough. This was a time I wished I had turbo boosts. _

_ "AHH!" Sig cried as we crashed into a wall to our side. _

_ "I've got it!" I shouted, and we eventually made it back to the entrance of the nest when Damas contacted us. _

_ "_You are still with us," _he said, "_I'm impressed. And you've destroyed the Metal Head eggs. I suppose mercy is in order, and it is granted, but next time, I will not be so lenient! Never again defile the arena!"

_"Looks like he means business," I commented, "I wonder what her punishment is." _

_ The others shrugged as we finally pulled into the garage. "Sig?" a voice asked, and we all looked up to see Lena standing by the Sand Shark. _

_ "Lena?" Sig gasped. _

_ "It's so good to see you again!" Lena cried, rushing over to Sig and shaking his hand, "When did you get back?" _

_ "The other day," Sig explained, "We just got punished for defiling the arena." _

_ Lena sighed, and I couldn't help but feel confused. How did Lena and Sig know each other? _

_ "Hey!" Dax piped up, "What's going on here?" _

_ "I knew Sig from before the war in Haven City," Lena explained, "I was banished, but he managed to stay in the city." _

_ "You still keeping watch at the tower?" Sig asked. _

_ "Uh huh," Lena replied, nodding, "How's Haven City been? Not that I care, but I'm curious." _

_ "It's bad," Sig told her, "Real bad." _

_ Lena smirked. "You don't like Haven, do you?" I asked. _

_ "Nope," Lena confirmed, shaking her head, "Anyway, the less time you have to spend in that city, Sig, the better. I knew it was going to hell eventually." _

_ I couldn't help but feel the same way at this point. Paige and I had saved the city and were banished. They clearly didn't need us anymore, and besides, I liked it better out here. It was much less claustrophobic. I wondered what happened to cause Lena to hate Haven City, other than being banished. _

_ "Let's go back to the apartment," Dax suggested, and after leaving Sig and Lena alone so that they could catch up, we returned to our apartment as we waited for Paige to get back._


	11. Exploring the Mysterious

Next chapter is here! Thanks again for the reviews! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs, side plots, and minor alterations to gameplay elements are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>The minute I spotted Seem by the Tough Puppy was the minute I realized things were going to get interesting.<p>

"You again," Seem growled, "Damas has called me here. He said you were to join me and my monks in the Oasis."

"_Believe _me," I replied, "I don't want to be a part of this anymore than you want me to be. I'm just doing what Damas told me to do to avoid getting thrown out of the city." _And the Precursors, too, _I added as a silent afterthought, _But she doesn't need to know that. _

"Come," Seem said, "We must move." And with that, we climbed into the Tough Puppy as some of the other monks drove their own vehicles. I had never been to the Oasis before, so I was excited to see it.

Fortunately, there were few to no Marauders driving around, and the ones that were around were off in the distance on artifact runs, probably.

I glanced over at Seem and watched as she continued to drive. "So," I began, "What are we doing out here, anyway? What's in the Oasis?"

"I buried something here a long time ago," Seem answered, "When I was still training to be a monk. I was told I would need it later."

"What is it?" I asked. Before Seem could answer, we watched as the Oasis came into view. I stopped talking and took in the beautiful trees, as well as the water at some of the bases.

"Short Ears," Seem said, "This way." Rolling my eyes, I followed her, feeling sad that I couldn't stick around to admire the Oasis again.

"It's just up ahead, Seem," one of the other monks announced, pointing to what looked like a hidden burial site. A large rock was covering what looked like a small cave, and I looked around to make sure nobody was watching this.

Some of the monks began to move the rock out of the way, and Seem immediately went to join them. I hung back for a minute, but then decided to help as well, and through our combined efforts, we managed to move the rock to the side. "In here," Seem whispered.

"In this dark place?" I asked, wincing. Not that I was afraid of the dark. I just wondered how we were all going to fit.

"I will lead the way," Seem announced, and turning a flashlight on, she led us into the cave. We ended up walking for a long time, and I wondered how deeply Seem buried this mysterious object.

"You don't want people to find it, do you?" I asked.

Seem shook her head. "It is more important than you know," she said. I just nodded.

"Watch your step!" one of the other monks warned, and I grabbed Seem's hand as we began to walk down a set of stairs. I pushed a few cobwebs out of my face, but continued on. _Precursors, _I said to myself, _I hope you're happy._

"We're going to need to move another rock," the others informed us.

"I will do it," Seem volunteered, walking to one side of the large obstruction.

"I'll help you," I decided, going to the other side. It was hard work trying to push this one as well, but we managed to do so. The rock fell to the ground with a loud _thud_, and I took a deep breath as Seem faced me.

"Thank you," she thanked me in a neutral voice.

"Don't mention it," I replied, and Seem pushed a few buttons on a panel, revealing a small chamber with the object she was looking for.

"Wait a minute!" I gasped, "Is that…no. It can't be!"

Seem raised an eyebrow at me. "Have you seen this before?" she asked.

I hesitated before replying. "The Rift Rider…" was all I mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," I lied, "This just looks like something from a Rift Rider I saw."

"The elder monks entrusted me with this artifact," Seem explained as she took it into her hands, "We must bring it back to Monk Temple. Come on, everyone." I stayed put until Seem turned around to face me.

"Are you coming, Short Ears?" she asked.

"_Paige_," I insisted, "And yes, I'm coming." We exited the burial chamber, fighting our way through cobwebs again. This time, I held the flashlight and led the way.

"When we get back to the Temple," Seem started, "We will see what you can do. It seems that the Precursors want you to join our ranks."

"How did you know that?" I demanded.

"I consulted the Oracle."

"Figures," I mumbled.

I had to shield my eyes for a minute once we stepped back outside, and I blinked a few times to get used to the sunlight again. Sighing, I shook my head and followed the monks back to their cars parked by the edge of the Oasis.

"Paige?"

I whipped my head around as I thought I heard someone calling my name. "Paige!" the same voice repeated, "Over here!"

"You go ahead," I said to Seem, "I'll meet you at the Temple." Seem just frowned, but continued on her way with the others as I decided to hang around the Oasis for a while.

When the sand cleared, I spotted a familiar face by one of the larger lakes. "_Ashelin?_" I gasped.

Sure enough, it was Ashelin Praxis. "Ashelin!" I repeated, running over to her and hugging her.

"It's good to see you, Paige," Ashelin replied once I pulled away from the hug, "How are you?"

I exhaled and readjusted my ponytail. "Really tan and working hard, but overall, not too bad, I guess," I told her, "How's Haven? How's everyone else?" At the same time, though, why did I care about Haven City? They threw me and Jak out! I could see why Lena wasn't too crazy about them at this point.

Ashelin shook her head. "It's not looking good, I can tell you that much," she replied, "Where's Jak?"

"He's back in Spargus," I explained, "Or at least, he should be by now, hopefully. He went on a mission with Sig before."

"Sig?" Ashelin echoed, "Sig's out here, too?"

"It's a _long _story," I said, wiping some sand out of my face.

"You said Jak was in Spargus?" Ashelin asked, "Is he there right now?"

I nodded. "He should be," I replied, "We all got in trouble before for 'defiling the arena' and Damas sent Jak and Sig out to the Metal Head Nest. Knowing Jak, I doubt he's going to get banished after that."

"I'm going to try calling him," Ashelin decided, pulling out her communicator.

"Jak, this is Ashelin," she announced, "I'm glad you're still alive. I see Damas still keeps tabs on his old beacons. Listen, I've got to see you immediately. I've landed out by the Oasis, but I don't have much time. I also ran into Paige here, too. Please, come find us." There was no response from the other end, but I was sure Jak and Daxter would be surprised.

"So," I piped up again, "What's everyone in the city saying? What about Count Veger?" I shuddered as I remembered him kidnapping me just the other day.

"The citizens won't admit it," the Baron's daughter responded, "But it looks like they're regretting throwing you two out."

"They should," I replied bitterly, "They didn't do us right at all."

"I know," Ashelin fumed, "That's what I wanted to talk to you and Jak about. I just hope he shows up soon."

Ten minutes later, we suddenly heard a car engine, and when we glanced to our right, we spotted a vehicle making its way towards us. "That looks like them now," I said, pointing as the Sand Shark came into view.

Jak parked the car and lifted his goggles as he and Daxter sprinted over to us.

"Hey, baby!" Dax greeted as the rest of us rolled our eyes, "Ya thought you'd dumped me, huh? I knew you'd be back for some more Orange lovin'! Get a good look, it's the last time you get to see it."

"Ashelin!" Jak gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"Jak," Ashelin replied, "It's good to see you."

"Listen, toots!" Dax snapped, "You left us in the desert. So talk to the tail. Cause the whiskers ain't listening! We out, guys." He turned to leave.

"That beacon you gave us," Jak said, "Thanks."

"I knew Damas would find you," Ashelin told us, "He doesn't miss much in this desert."

"That's for sure," I piped up.

"How do you know him?" Jak demanded.

"It doesn't matter now," Ashelin answered as she shook her head sadly, "Jak, I need you and Paige to come back to the city. We're losing the fight. Veger is drunk on power and he's taken command. He doesn't understand what he's up against. I need you..." She trailed off, for suddenly, we heard more engines roaring.

"Look out!" Jak shouted, and we looked up as dozens of Marauders skidded to a stop, circling us as they drew out their weapons.

"Oh, crap!" I gasped, instantly pulling out my Vulcan Fury.

"Shoot! Shoot!" Ashelin commanded, beginning the battle as she raced forward and began fighting with some o the Marauders closest to her. Next to me, Jak whipped out the Blaster Gun and switched to the Beam Reflexor Mod, and I watched as bullets bounced from car to car, from Marauder to Marauder.

"YAHHHH!" someone cried next to me, and I quickly leaped out of the way as another Marauder lunged at me with his sword, nearly missing my stomach.

"Don't even try it!" I snapped, shooting him with the Vulcan Fury before moving on to his comrades. Many of them swiped at me as I raised my foot and kicked them to the ground. I could see more of Jak's bullets sailing around us, and whichever Marauders I didn't end up killing, he took care of them.

On the other side, Ashelin back flipped to dodge some of the bullets flying out from one of the vehicles. It just seemed to never end; their reinforcements continued to show up. We were clearly outnumbered, but that didn't stop us from fighting them. I leaped out of the way to avoid some of the Marauders' guns as well.

"AHH!" Daxter screamed as a car with spikes on the front plowed right towards us.

"Watch out!" I cried, and Ashelin back flipped again, giving Jak enough room to shoot the driver in the car, as well as the engine.

When a new wave of Marauders arrived, Jak put his gun away and changed into Dark Jak. As I shot my Vulcan Fury and quickly ran to crouch down next to Ashelin, I watched as Dark Jak leaped into the air and performed the Dark Bomb Attack, effectively wiping out the entire group attacking us.

"Whoa," I whispered as Ashelin and I picked ourselves up and took out the last few remaining Marauders. Everything instantly died down as it didn't sound like any more Marauders would show up.

As Dark Jak still stood where he was, I decided to try something out. "Hey," I began, "I know how Jak feels about me already. What about you?" I couldn't help but think about what Kleiver had said back in the arena, about Dark Jak liking me more. I knew Jak had feelings for Keira; I wasn't interested in him like that, but I was curious.

Dark Jak didn't say anything, like always, but he continued to stare at me with those black eyes. I was a little unsettled for a minute, but then I relaxed as he held out a claw. I extended my hand out and began to shake his claw slowly. That was when I realized why he seemed to like me; I had helped to create him.

But Jak. He didn't like it. He didn't want this other side. I knew that too. Sighing, I stopped shaking hands with Dark Jak as he disappeared and Jak took his place once again.

"Keira wanted me to give you these," Ashelin announced, reaching into her Freedom League cruiser as she grabbed two jet boards and handed them to us. During the two months I had been back in Haven City, Jak had taught me how to ride on a jet board, and I wondered if I would need it for anything.

"Jak," she continued, "The city needs you. I…need you." _Hmm, _I thought, rubbing my chin in thought.

"The city threw me out, remember?" Jak replied, "They can rot, for all I care. And I don't think Paige wants to go back, either."

"Not if they're going to blame us again," I said.

Ashelin looked exasperated. "But what about your-"

"Forget it!" Jak snapped, "Just leave. We have new friends now." Daxter narrowed his eyes and nodded in agreement.

"He's right, Ashelin," I sighed.

"So the hero I knew did die in the desert," Ashelin quipped, placing her hands on her hips, "Or was it long before that? Don't you remember who you are?" She pressed the Seal of Mar into Jak's hands. It was the same one Young Jak had worn. I sighed again as Jak seemed to consider it.

"I'm through saving the world," he declared, clenching his fist and turning away from Ashelin. Daxter climbed onto Jak's shoulder again, and we watched as Ashelin sat in her cruiser again, started the engine, and took off back to the city.

"Jak?" I asked cautiously as he returned to the Sand Shark.

"Come on," he said, "Let's go back to the city."

And with that, I climbed into the Passenger Seat of the Sand Shark as he accelerated.

"So Damas must have changed his mind about banishing you and Sig, huh?" I asked.

Jak nodded. "What about you?" he asked, "Why were you out in the Oasis?"

"It was my part of the punishment for defiling the arena," I explained, "Damas sent me out there with Seem and her monks, and I'm supposed to be joining them at the Monk Temple. I guess Damas will let me stay in the city, too, after this." A few Marauders tried to attack us along the way, but Daxter took over the guns and took care of them.

"So you really don't want to go back, huh?" I asked him as I folded my hands.

"Nope," Jak confirmed, "I don't know about you, but I've made a life for myself out here. I don't need Haven."

I had to agree with him. As much as I missed David, Eileen, and everyone else in Haven City, I liked Spargus much better. There was more freedom out here, and constant sun. The Wastelanders seemed to appreciate our help more than the Havenites as well.

"Let's stay out here, then," I decided, and with that, we returned to the garages.

* * *

><p><strong>I can't believe this,<strong>_** Ashelin thought as she parked her cruiser in the garage behind the Freedom HQ and made her way up to the main meeting room. She had to admit that she hadn't been surprised that Jak and Paige didn't want to return to Haven City, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed all the same. Jak was turning his back on everything he had fought for last year. **_

_** "What happened?" Samos asked as soon as the Governess entered the HQ. **_

_** "He didn't want to come back," Ashelin reported to Samos and Keira, who looked worried, "Neither of them did. They resent the city." **_

_** "We must figure out how to stop Veger from taking command," Samos announced, "If we do that, then maybe they'll want to come back." **_

_** "I hope so," Keira piped up, "It's getting worse out there!" **_

_** "It's not over yet," Ashelin reminded them, "Somehow, I have a feeling he might change his mind. I hope he will." **_

_** Suddenly the door opened again, and Eileen and David staggered into the room, clutching their chests and they took deep breaths. **_

_** "Peterson! Lloyd!" Ashelin cried, "What's going on?" **_

_** "It's looking bad," David panted, "More KG deathbots are starting to attack on this side now. Somehow, they got around Veger's white shield!" **_

_** Ashelin, Samos, and Keira all shook their heads. Count Veger had no idea what he was doing, it seemed. He was confused. **_

_** "Round up your troops!" Ashelin ordered, "You're going to keep watch around here. Guard the HQ, and take down any deathbots you see!" **_

_** "Yes, Governess," Eileen replied, nodding as she and David left. This was going to be a long battle. **_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two weeks later…<strong>_

"Precursors," Seem began as she, the rest of the monks, and I all knelt down in front of the Oracle in the Temple, "Reveal your secrets to us." She closed her eyes, so I figured I would do the same. I rested my hands on the cold floor, but nothing happened. At least, for me, anyway.

These last two weeks had been interesting, that was for sure. I had gone to the Temple every day with Seem, and slowly but surely, I could see why she took pride in her job. We didn't butt heads as much as we used to, which was a relief. I figured the Precursors were happy about that.

"This meeting is over," Seem declared, "I have heard all that I needed to. Let's go back to the city." Nodding, we all got up and followed her back out to the Dune Hoppers parked at the entrance to the Temple. We rode in silence, like we always did, so seeing Jak and Daxter back in Spargus was a welcome relief.

Jak and Daxter had been helping out with little errands around the city, and Lena had let them sit with her in the watchtower since I was forced to go with the monks every day. As of now, the sun was out and it was hotter than usual, so the demolition duo told me they were going to take it easy on the beach. Being finished at the Temple for the day, I decided to join them.

"Ahh, this is the life!" Daxter sighed, happily resting himself on the sand, "No missions from Damas or Kleiver, and no risking our lives to kill Metal Heads!" He ran his paws through the sand, and I couldn't help but giggle to myself..

"I've gotta admit I agree with you, Dax," Jak spoke up from next to him, "It's nice to have a day off every now and then."

"Hey boys!" I called to them. They looked up as I took out some sunscreen I had found in the apartment and sat down next to them.

"I didn't think you two would be letting this beautiful day go to waste, so I decided to join you!" I decided. Both of them grinned, and we spent the next few minutes covering ourselves in sunscreen. We were already tan just from living out here, but being burned wouldn't be good.

"How the hell does Seem wear all that dark clothing in this blinding heat, anyway?" I asked, closing my eyes and tilting my face towards the sun.

"I don't know," Daxter piped up, "But she must be dying underneath that robe every day. And the face paint."

I shook my head. "I can only imagine." I kicked my boots off as I sighed.

"Two weeks," I heard Jak muse, "We've been out here for two more weeks. Since Ashelin…" He trailed off there.

"The city's not our problem anymore," he continued, "They don't need us anyway."

"True," I said in agreement, "They can solve their own issues. I see why Lena hates them."

"Did you know she knew Sig?" Jak asked me.

I nodded. "She told me that she and Sig went on artifact runs for Krew," I explained, "But not much else." Sig. I had seen him around a few more times since that fateful day in the arena, but he was always busy. He still hadn't told us about his apparent spying in Haven City.

"How's working with Seem?" Jak asked.

I opened my eyes as I faced him. He was wearing a smirk on his face when he asked the questions. "Interesting," I replied, "But surprisingly not bad. She seems…okay."

"There's still somethin' about that Temple," Dax chirped, "Somethin' that feels…I don't know…"

"Incomplete?" Jak finished for him.

"You got it! Wanna check it out later tonight?"

Jak glanced over at me. "I don't see why not," he answered, "Paige?"

"Sure," I said, sinking my toes into the sand, "I'm up for a little adventure."

"That's right!" Daxter said excitedly, and Jak and I both had to laugh.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later on that night…<strong>_

Getting through the Temple hadn't been easy.

"Paige!" I heard Jak cry at one point, "This way!" Nodding, I followed him until we arrived in another hallway. In the corner was a locked door, where Jak used the Seal Ashelin had given him in order to unlock it.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" Jak cried as the door opened in front of us.

"That's the ticket!" Daxter agreed as we walked quietly through another hallway.

There were flying Metal Heads everywhere, which we were forced to deal with as we entered a room filled with water. "I guess we'll have to clear this room," Jak mused, "Stay back. I'll handle this." I stood back and watched as he completed the Monk Tests on the jet board. He had to collect little balls of light in order to open the door up ahead, and while he did that, I decided to ride around on my own jet board for a few minutes to get readjusted to it. My feet wobbled a little bit from the jet board, but a few short movements helped to correct that.

After walking for a long time, we came across another Precursor Oracle, and situated in front of it were a few spinning platforms. Jak stepped up to the plate as the Oracle came to life. _Oh, boy, _I thought.

"**Greetings great warrior, your coming brings us great hope**_," _the Oracle spoke, _"_**But I fear it may be too late. You will soon meet the seed of our downfall. Take this light power, and use it to conquer those who would defy you**_."_ Another shaft of light illuminated over Jak, and once he was granted the new power, he, Daxter, and I studied the spinning platforms.

"There's no way we can cross those!" Daxter shouted. But we continued to watch them.

"I bet we can slow them down," Jak mused. He then turned to me.

"Paige, take my hand and don't let go," he said, extending his hand.

"What are you going to do?" I asked worriedly.

"Just trust me." I gulped, but trusted my friend enough to grip his hand tightly.

Jak closed his eyes, and once he called up the Light Eco, he lowered back down to the ground and clapped his hands together, all while my hand was in between his. Everything around us suddenly turned blue…and slowed down. The spinning platforms barely spun as the three of us began making our way across them. Only we moved normally as everything else moved much slower. I realized this was why Jak had wanted me to hold on; I would've slowed down just like everything else.

Once we were on the other side, time caught up with us and returned everything to normal, and Jak sent the Light Eco away. "Whoa!" I gasped, "That was pretty cool!"

"See?" Jak replied, "I told you nothing bad would happen."

I nodded. "I know," I whispered.

The three of us continued making our way through the temple, using our jet boards for most of the ride. Up ahead, another door opened, where this time, spinning blades greeted us. I gasped as Jak and I dismounted from our boards. Jak simply smiled as he ran over to the Light Eco vent, refilled, and stepped in front of the blades again. I moved forward and grabbed his hand as he called on the light once more and clapped his hands together. Time slowed down again, and so did the blades as we hopped across the rotating platform. The entire time, I was a little unnerved, but during the other two times we had to cross more spinning blades, I felt my fear disappear. I had to admit I liked Light Jak much more than Dark Jak, and I guessed Jak felt the same way.

Once we were finished, we ran through another hallway until we were outside in front of a bridge. "That bridge doesn't look safe," I commented, but it seemed Jak was thinking the same thing. He quickly filled up on Light Eco again and approached the bridge. He was starting to transform so fast that I narrowly missed grabbing his hand. The eerie blue hue surrounded us once again as we began to cross the bridge, but we suddenly began to run as the bridge collapsed underneath us.

"Run!" Daxter shouted, even though the bridge was falling at a much slower rate than we were running. We hopped across the crumbling infrastructure and were relieved once we made it to the other side in one piece. As Jak reverted back to normal, he and I burst out laughing.

"Woohoo!" I shouted into the air, spreading my arms out and tilting my head back.

"Jak, you're officially awesome!" I complimented, smiling, "That was cool!"

"Thanks," he thanked me, "Let's see what's this way."

And with that, we took the elevator down, wondering what we would find here. Hopefully, it would be something good.


	12. The Second Return

All right! Here's the next chapter! Thank you to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting! I appreciate it! I'd say we're about halfway through the game at this point! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs, side plots, and minor alterations to gameplay are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>With a clank, the elevator stopped in a massive room where a strange-looking vehicle waited for us. "What is that?" I croaked as we stepped off the elevator and went to go stand in front of it. There was a dark tunnel up ahead, and a few rails led into it.<p>

"It looks like the catacombs we saw in Haven City," Jak replied, "But where do they go?"

"There you are!" Pecker suddenly cried as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Pecker!" I gasped.

"Ahh," the moncaw sighed, "I'm so squawking happy I found you."

"Look!" Dax announced, "Jak got his seal back! And it opens doors!"

"Onin says we must get back to Haven City. She says the catacombs are the key to the planet's very survival!" _No pressure there, huh? _I couldn't help but think to myself.

"You guys up for a little ride?" Jak asked slyly, and we all grinned as we hopped into the car and took off through the sub rails.

"Whoa!" I gasped, holding on for dear life as Jak accelerated. Why did he have to be such a speed demon sometimes?

There were other moving bots up ahead, which Jak shot in order to get rid of them. Whenever there were gaps in the floor, he maneuvered the car and flipped us upside down, where we ended up riding on the ceiling.

"AHH!" I screamed, "This is crazy!" It reminded me of roller coasters at amusement parks, only much more intense. I could hear Jak laughing next to me, and I remembered he thought I was apparently funny when I was scared. Oh, well.

We continued to fly through the sub rails before finally emerging on the other side. Jak grinned as he parked the car and got out. "Not bad, eh, Dax?" he asked.

"Nope," Dax replied, facing me, "You okay, toots?"

"Ugh," I groaned, getting out and feeling like I was going to hurl, "I'm never going on that thing again." The others chuckled good-naturedly as I regained myself.

However, we all quieted down as a Precursor suddenly appeared in front of us. "**You show promise, but your bravery will not protect you from the foes you must soon face**," it announced as yet another shaft of light surrounded Jak, "**Use this light power to help in your quest. It is what little we have left to offer**." The light disappeared, leaving Light Jak in its place as he closed his eyes and formed a shield around himself.

"Whoa," Dax, Pecker, and I all gasped at the sight.

"Two Light Eco powers at once?" I asked, "That's pretty cool." The shield disappeared as Jak reverted back to his normal self.

"Let's go," he said, and he led us over to the elevator in the corner, which we rode on until we arrived in what looked like some mines.

"It looks like some kind of old eco mine," Jak surmised, "When Mar built Haven City, he must have carved out these old caves to get at the eco power."

"Sheesh!" Daxter piped up, "That Mar guy must've never slept much!" I chuckled into my hands.

"I'm going ahead to tell Onin we're back," Pecker announced, facing me and Jak, "Watch your tail feathers, you two! This is a spooky place." With that, he flapped his wings and flew away.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A little while later…<strong>_

"Pecker was right!" I gasped as we finally made it out the other end of the Eco Mines, "This place _was _spooky!"

"Can you believe we had to kick those animals into the wheels?" Daxter cried. I shuddered at the image of those poor animals being put to work all the time.

Jak just shook his head. "That was crazy," he said, "Look up there!" He pointed to a clearing, and when we narrowed our eyes, we saw what he was referring to.

"That looks like more of Mar's armor," Jak realized as he sprinted over to it.

"Hmm," he said, studying it for a second before strapping it on both his legs. He paced for a little bit before grinning at Daxter.

I also nodded. I was impressed. "Very nice," I complimented, giving the renegade the thumbs up.

"Thanks," he replied, smiling at me before we moved on to a bigger room, where a mine cart was waiting for us. I couldn't help but think about how Jak and I got along really well one minute, and the next minute, we wanted to kill each other. I shrugged. Oh, well.

I watched as Jak pulled a lever in the corner of the room, which secured the mine cart and lowered it down to the tracks we had seen before.

"Jak!" Daxter cried, "Shoot those buttons below the track!"

I craned my neck and saw what he was referring to. Almost immediately, Jak pulled out his Blaster Gun and used that to lower certain parts of the track in order to make a path for the cart. "Follow that cart!" I shouted, and follow it we did.

There were a few close calls where the mine cart nearly fell off the track, but we managed to lower the track to save it. There were also times where we had to use our jet boards to get across certain railings, just like back in Monk Temple.

"Almost there!" Dax announced when it looked like we were getting close to the end, and after Jak shot the last button, we watched quietly as the mine cart blew up the wall in front of it.

"All right!" we all cheered as Jak and I high-fived each other.

"Let's get out of here," Jak whispered to us, and after taking out some more flying Metal Heads, we entered the newly accessible room, where we waited on the turntable for a second. It turned us around until we entered another room with a large platform in front of us.

"I never realized all this was here," I said in amazement as we stepped forward, stopping in front of the edge of the cliff. Up ahead was a passageway. Where did it go?

Suddenly, we heard footsteps, and when we looked up, we got the surprise of our lives. "_Veger?_" I gasped just as Jak widened his eyes next to me.

"The monks told me you were coming through the Precursor sub-rails," Veger explained as he approached us from his end, "Interesting, aren't they? The Precursors used them to build the world countless eons ago. The rail system leads deep into the planet where it's said the ancient ones wait to bestow unimaginable powers upon the worthy. I will save the world with that power, just as Mar did!" He turned away from us and raised his staff into the air. We all glanced at each other and raised our eyebrows.

"This is the kind of crap he was trying to feed me when he kidnapped me," I whispered to the demolition duo.

"I can only imagine, toots," Daxter whispered in response as Jak rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you've done a great job so far, letting the Metal Heads destroy the Palace," he said to Veger sarcastically.

Veger kept his back to us. "Oh, you couldn't be more mistaken, dear boy," he replied, whirling around to face us.

"We're on a time clock, Jak! That light in the sky. Do you know what it is? Our nightmare has found us and the end is coming! I needed quick access to the catacombs below, so I attacked the palace myself! It will be our little secret." The three of us gaped at each other.

"So _you're_ the reason we almost got killed that day?" I snapped, "You…_idiot_!"

Veger smirked at me. "I tried to make you understand all those times in the library, Paige," he responded, "But you refused to listen to me. The monks have given me enough secrets to go by. And now, I have no more use for you." _You never had a use for me in the first place, you dumbass, _I couldn't help but think to myself.

"What's he talkin' about, toots?" Dax whispered to me.

"I'll tell you two later," I promised him.

"Well, you're full of surprises," Jak piped up, not dropping the sarcasm.

"And you're full of Dark Eco!" Veger snapped in response as we all scowled at him, "You, your creator, and your _rat _are an abomination! But I will rid the planet of this scourge soon enough. Pure light will rule the universe, and I will be the bright light that shines to every corner of the world and destroys all shadows!" He waved his staff in the air again as he said all this. _Geesh, _I thought, _He's just losing his mind, isn't he? _Next to me, Jak stared at the Count with a "What the hell" expression on his face.

"Ahh, excuse me, Count _Vulgar_," Dax interrupted him, raising a paw in the air, and I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit in spite of myself.

Veger didn't look too amused. "It's _Veger!_" he growled, and we all shook our heads.

"Yeah, whatever," Daxter said dismissively, "Isn't it kinda nice to just curl up in the shade sometimes? Just chillin' it... watching the hot babes prancing around in their skimpy little bikinis. Ya know, how they just jiggle. I get that special tingling feeling in my tail." _You would, Daxter, _I thought as we noticed Veger getting angrier.

"_Enough!_" he thundered, "We will start the cleansing of the world with your demise!" He turned his back to us as he waved his staff yet again.

"Behold!" he declared, "I now command the very power of the ancient ones!"

"Veger!" I shouted, "What are you doing?"

But Veger ignored me and just stood off to the side as something broke through the wall up ahead. All our mouths dropped open in shock for a second as we took in the giant, orange Precursor Robot that was snorting and fixing its gaze on us. I couldn't help but gulp for a minute. I had never seen anything like this before!

"And this time," Veger hissed as he glared at us, "The Precursors will not have mercy on you." We all shot daggers at the Count as he walked away, shutting the door behind him and leaving us with the robot.

"Oh, he is _so _dead for this!" I growled as the Robot snorted again and slammed its Eco Sword on the ground a few times, forcing us to jump in order to avoid it. It then swiped at us close to our feet, and we pretty much had to keep jumping so that we wouldn't get hit. Just what kind of secrets did Seem and the monks pass onto Veger? At the same time, however, I didn't want to know.

Suddenly, the Precursor Robot shot something into the air, and when we got a closer look, we spotted blue and black spiders. "What are these things?" Jak shouted over the loud sound of both our Blaster Guns combined.

"I don't know!" I replied, "I've never seen anything like this before!"

The spiders growled as we continued to take them on, but the more we killed them, the more they split up into smaller creatures. "They never end!" Daxter gasped, but once we killed the smallest creatures, the Robot snorted again, whipped out some lasers, and started burning circles around us.

"Look out!" I yelled, but we soon noticed that the Robot was creating columns that rose into the air.

"Try doin' somethin' with those mine carts!" Daxter suggested as we waited for the columns to cool off before climbing up to the top. The robot didn't take too kindly to this and began shooting at us on the way up. Just as I was hoisting myself up, I saw a blue ball of energy sail towards me, and I quickly lowered myself again to avoid the blast. When the coast was clear, I made it up to the top, took out my Blaster Gun again, and shot one of the mine carts while Jak did the same. With our combined fire, the mine cart suddenly fell from its position and crashed down onto the Precursor Robot, knocking it into the abyss below us.

"Is that it?" I asked as we lowered ourselves.

"I think so," Jak answered, "Let's go see." We raced over to the edge and glanced down, feeling victorious when we didn't see any sign of the Robot.

However, our victory was short-lived. The Precursor Robot suddenly reappeared, glaring at us and intensifying its attacks. "Crap!" I groaned, taking out my Vulcan Fury this time.

"We can do this!" Jak said encouragingly, and I nodded as we continued to battle the Precursor Robot. The whole time, I wondered why Veger was so afraid of shadows and the dark, especially Dark Eco. I shook my head once we began taking out more of those spiders from before. Veger. Did he honestly expect me to be hurt by the fact that he "didn't need me anymore"?

"Paige!" Dax shouted, and I quickly leaped out of the way of one of the lasers that was forming a column. Once everything cooled down, the Robot began shooting again as we climbed up.

"Rinse and repeat!" I yelled as Jak and I shot the second mine cart. Just like the first time, the Precursor Robot got knocked into the pit below us, but it recovered once again and attacked for one last time.

"I wonder how Veger got this power," Jak wondered as he reloaded his Scatter Gun, which he had switched to in order to deal with the last wave of spiders.

I shrugged. "I guess Seem said something to him," I replied. I shook my head as I thought about the Precursor Monks. Hopefully, they would realize that helping Veger was a bad idea.

It wasn't too much later that the Precursor Robot was finally down for good. With another roar, it fell into oblivion, leaving a new gun mod in its place. After double checking to make sure it wouldn't come back, Jak approached the gun mod and picked it up.

"Oh yeah!" Dax cheered as we all high-fived each other, "The boys and babe are back in town!" I laughed.

"Let's go topside and see what kinda trouble we can get into," Jak replied.

"Right behind you," I agreed, and we began to take the same path as Veger.

After riding the elevator up for a while, we got another surprise when the gate opened.

At first, none of us could move. We all widened our eyes and fixed our gaze on the sight in front of us. "Whoa!" we gasped in unison.

"Is this still Haven City?" I asked in shock. I almost couldn't believe my eyes; the city was a wreck! Ashelin wasn't kidding when she said things weren't looking too good.

"I think so," Jak answered, blinking his eyes, almost as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Let's see what's around here," Daxter suggested quietly, and nodding, we began to pick our way around the ruins, avoiding Metal Head scorpions that were in the area.

"This is horrible," I whispered. We continued to walk for a while until we spotted a huge white shield.

"This place looks as bad as my old bedroom back home," Dax commented, and we just shook our heads.

Suddenly, we heard familiar voices. "Jak, Paige!" someone cried, "Over here!"

We glanced up to see none other than…

"Samos!" Jak gasped, "Keira!"

"You're back!" Keira cheered as we rushed over to them. Unfortunately, they were stuck on the other side of the shield.

"You guys are okay!" I said in relief, "It's good to see you!"

"See Keira, I knew I could feel Jak's energy and that Paige wouldn't be too far behind," Samos said proudly, "It's good to see you again! Those passageways below the palace, they must be terribly important. The Metal Heads and KG robots are advancing toward them and we can't hold out forever."

At this, Jak smirked. "So the city needs me again, huh?" he asked, "What else is new?"

"They always realize they need you after they've done you wrong," I commented.

"Veger has turned on the force fields here," Samos explained.

"Veger's the one who attacked the palace!" Jak replied, "He said he was looking for something below... something in the catacombs."

"_Veger?_" Keira gasped.

"Yeah, he was going on about wanting to rule the world with all light or something stupid like that," I added. Keira just shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Well, you're just going to have to find whatever it is before he does," Samos said, "But first, you'll need to find another way into this section of the city. Take the sewers into the port, then find a way north to reach us. And you two, we're sorry for what happened. We should have stopped Veger."

"We'll stop him ourselves," Jak assured him.

"Good luck," Keira said to us, "Be careful down there."

"We will," I responded, "See you on the other side." And waving, we headed over to the sewers.

* * *

><p><strong>It was a good thing I was close to South Town. I could see all the action from here. <strong>

** Cameras were set up all around me, and what I was seeing surprised me to no end. Jak, Paige, and Daxter had somehow managed to defeat that Precursor Robot! How did they **_**do **_**it? Not only that, but they also told the ex-Underground leader, Samos, about what I had done. If he knew, then everyone would know, and nobody would ask for my help. **

** No matter. I would still go through with my plans. They would still have to turn to me eventually. **_**If only those two freaks weren't so stubborn, **_**I thought as I scratched my chin. **

** I thought back to something Seem had told me a week ago when I spoke with her. "**_**I am working very closely with Short Ears,**_**" she had said, "**_**I'm beginning to wonder if she was telling the truth. Maybe she doesn't have any knowledge of the Precursors. She is acting as if she does not know anything about their secrets.**_**"**

**"**_**That's preposterous!**_**" I had snapped, "**_**She is friends with that Dark Eco Freak who has also spoken to them! I am sure that the Precursors will not allow him into their most sacred sites, so she's the next one in line!**_**" **

** "**_**It just seems very doubtful.**_**" **

** "**_**I will not stand for this. Keep a close eye on them. They may surprise us in the end.**_**" **

** And it was after that conversation that the monks finally managed to help me gain some power to the point where I didn't need Paige anymore. But that was before she and Jak defeated the robot. It was time to put the next part of my plan in action. **

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight," Dax began once we reached the exit of the sewers, "Count Vulgar thought you knew secrets about the Precursors from that mission you got?"<p>

"Yeah," I confirmed, "He was bothering me in the library because he wanted to know what I 'knew'. And that was why he dragged me out to Monk Temple a few weeks ago."

In the sewers, Jak and Daxter had asked me about Veger's cryptic comment before our battle against the Precursor Robot, and since I had promised I would tell them, I did.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Jak asked.

I sighed. "I didn't want you thinking I was actually going to join Veger," I explained, "He's just a bit out there, and it seems like he'll stop at nothing until he gets what he wants."

"We'll stop him," Daxter vowed, and with that, we emerged out into the city again, this time by the Port. There was a full-blown war going on here; KG deathbots roamed the streets while the Freedom League tried to fight them.

"Look!" Jak cried, pointing, "The Naughty Ottsel!"

"Let's go!" Daxter shouted, and we broke out into a run as we entered the familiar bar once again. It was much more spacious, and I noticed Kor's head had been taken down for now. Torn was also standing in the middle of the bar by a communicator.

"Ahh, the Naughty Ottsel," Dax sighed, "Honey, I'm home!"

"Jak! Paige!" Torn shouted, glancing up and smiling, "I never thought I'd see you two again!"

"Good to see you, Torn," I replied, smiling as well.

"_Torn!_" Dax gasped, "What are you doing to my place?"

"We needed a southern HQ for the war," Torn explained, "Plus, I kinda like the sign with the Ottsel Head outside."

"Yeah," Dax agreed, "It's cool, huh?"

"We use it for target practice."

"Hey!" Daxter snapped, and Jak and I chuckled a little bit. Torn then sighed.

"Listen," he said, "I'm sorry we couldn't stop Veger. We all are."

"What's in the past is done," I replied, surprised that I was quoting Samos.

"We just saw Veger," Jak said, "He's trying to use Precursor technology for something."

"Figures," Torn grumbled, "That guy always was one monk short of a choir. We have bigger problems now. Veger sent me on a suicide attack into the port and we got cut off. Now we can't get back to Freedom HQ. Our forces are divided and the KG and Metal Head fronts are squeezing us from both sides." I just sighed and shook my head. _Veger, _I thought, _Next time, leave military combat to those who are experienced. _

"Never fear," Daxter chirped, "The trouble twins and Paige are here!"

"Uh oh, speaking of trouble. We've got incoming blast bots from the KG city section. They're heading this way. Can you two handle it?" Torn pointed at me and Jak.

Daxter chuckled nervously. "Okay, so we've got a little fear. Hee hee... but Jak is here!"

"Come on!" Jak cried, and we exited the Naughty Ottsel to help take out the blast bots.

It looked even worse the further we ran down the Port. Other Freedom League soldiers were busy fighting the deathbots as well. We both collected some Vulcan Fury ammo before moving on to help with the fight.

"_Jak? Paige?_" two familiar voices cried, and we glanced up ahead as we saw Eileen and David standing a little further from us.

"Eileen! David!" I cried, firing another round from my Vulcan Fury.

"You're back!" David shouted just as he finished fighting off a smaller Krimzon deathbot, "When did you guys get here?"

"Just now," Jak explained, "We're trying to reopen the north side of the city."

"Veger is an idiot!" Eileen yelled as she and David ran over to help subdue more deathbots while we took on the bigger ones, "He sent us in here to fight and cut us off from Freedom HQ!"

"We know," I said to her, "Torn told us. How've you guys been?"

"Not too good," Eileen reported, "We've been taking heavy casualties. We're sorry about what happened with Veger, you two. We shouldn't have allowed that to happen." We all continued to take out the deathbots as she said this.

"It's okay," Jak retorted, even though I knew it wasn't okay, "We're going to knock him off his high horse as much as we can."

"Good," David said firmly, nodding, "He needs it. He's just lost his mind! You should hear some of the things he's said about you two."

"Like what?" I asked, but before he could reply, we finished taking out the larger deathbots not unlike the ones that had nearly destroyed the Underground hideout in the first war.

"Listen," Eileen began, "We've got to go. We have to continue fighting, but we'll talk to you guys again soon! Good luck! It's good to see you again!"

"Thanks!" Jak thanked them, "Good luck to you, too!" Nodding, David and Eileen reloaded their Vulcan Furies and took off into the chaos.

"Come on," the renegade said to me next, "Torn's calling us. He wants us back at the Naughty Ottsel." I nodded and we quickly dashed back to the bar, where Torn was waiting for us again.

"Good job, guys," he complimented as he pressed a button on the communicator.

"This is one intense war," I commented as I wiped some sweat off my forehead.

"Ashelin!" Torn cried, "Ashelin, this is Torn! Jak and Paige are back in the city!"

Ashelin's face appeared as a hologram. "_Jak? Paige?_" she gasped in happiness, "_I knew I could count on you!_"

"We're back!" I replied, "Ta da!"

"_It's good to have you back,_" Ashelin said, "_Maybe now things will look up._"

"That new KG leader's probably pissing in his…" Torn started, but didn't finish, for suddenly, Ashelin's face began to go static.

"Wait…someone's jamming the signal…I think…"

"_Torn?_" Ashelin asked, "_Torn, come in! Are you there?_"

But her head disappeared as a new one took its place. _No! _I thought as I recognized the face and the hair, _No, no, NO! It can't be! It just can't be…_

"_Erol!_" both Jak and I shouted at the same time. Torn looked thunderstruck as well.

"_I live!_" Erol declared, laughing as my hairs stood on end.

"No, no, no," I muttered as I took a few deep breaths, "He's dead! He's dead!" I even pinched myself to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, and to my horror, I wasn't.

"_Still fighting for the weak link, eh Jak?_" Erol asked in a slightly metallic voice, "_Well, I've had a few 'enhancements' since we last met. Even the Metal Heads have their biological weakness. But me? I'm pure metal!_"

"No," I hissed under my breath again as I shook my head. _So that was Erol in the desert that day! _I thought.

That was when Erol faced me next, and I felt my heart pound as I wondered what he would say after all this time. "_Hi, Paige,_" he greeted, increasing my heart rate, "_Did you miss me?_"

"No!" I growled, refusing to look at the communicator.

"_That's a shame. I missed having you as my helper. But that'll change. I'd love to meet you two again._" And with that, he was gone before either of us could say anything. I opened my eyes again as I rested my hands on the communicator to steel myself. None of us knew what to say. I could tell Jak was shocked, too.

"_We must unite our forces or we're though!_" Samos announced as he took Erol's place,_ "You've got to reach us, you two!_"

Finally, Ashelin reappeared. "_We need you to break through and link up with us before it's too late. The KG robots are growing stronger. That floating War Factory of theirs is spitting out more robots every day._"

Torn took a deep breath and attempted to get our minds off what we had just seen. "We need to assault the KG front," he said, "If we can break through their defenses, we may be able to get back to HQ and link up. Care to make some noise?"

Jak exhaled as well. "We're always up for a little rumble, eh, guys?" he asked, facing us.

"Fish in a barrel, baby!" Dax chirped, "Fish…in a barrel." I laughed in spite of myself, but I was still rattled. Erol was alive.

"Come on," Jak whispered to me, "Let's get you out of here for a while."

Gulping, I nodded as I followed them out of the Naughty Ottsel. "Can you believe it?" I spat, "Erol's alive! But how?"

"I don't know," Jak answered truthfully, "That was…interesting."

"I'm going to pretend that didn't happen," I decided, but I still shook a little bit. I had hoped to never see Erol again after what happened the last time, and this was like my worst nightmare coming true. What did he mean by "enhancements"? What would happen the second time we met?

To take my mind off Erol's return, I followed the trouble twins as they found a rocket not too far away. Jak and I went to stand in front of it as Daxter hopped on.

"I'll handle this!" he announced, and in a flash, he was gone, taking off around the Port.


	13. False Promises

Righto! Sorry for the long wait in updating. I hit a little bit of writer's block, so that's why this chapter is shorter than usual. Anyway, thanks again for the reviews! Hopefully, I won't take this long in updating again.

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs, side plots, and minor alterations to gameplay are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>"AHHHH!" Dax shouted as he flew over our heads at one point with the rocket. Jak and I ducked to avoid the flames as the ottsel continued collecting radiation that was scattered around the Port.<p>

"Wow, look at him go!" I laughed as the missile picked up speed. Granted, I was still rattled over Erol's return, but I would worry about it later. For now, we had other things to deal with.

"Looks like he's got the missile all powered up," Jak noted, "Let's go get him."

"There's a Zoomer!" I cried, and we immediately climbed onto it, with Jak taking over.

"Hold on tight," he warned.

"Damn straight," I replied as he took off down the street. I held on tight as Jak accelerated, barely missing pedestrians and KG deathbots. We rounded the corner once we got to the passageway leading into the Industrial Zone. Up ahead, Daxter sailed towards the barricade that was blocking the whole section of the city.

"AHHHHHHH!" he screamed, leaping down to the ground just as the missile collided into the blockade, blowing it up and clearing the way for us.

"You did it!" I cheered as Jak scooped Dax up from the ground and placed him on his shoulder again.

"I told you I'd handle this," the ottsel sighed as he rested his head on his friend's shoulder.

"So where should we go next?" I asked, "I personally don't want to go back to the Naughty Ottsel yet, but it's up to you guys."

"I saw the Gun Course was open," Jak explained, "Want to check it out?"

"Sure," Daxter and I decided. Anything to purge my mind of Erol for now.

We silently drove back to the Port, and I hopped down from the Zoomer as Jak parked it. We all entered the small building, where another familiar face greeted us.

"Daxter!" Tess gasped as Dax ran into her arms, "You're back! Ooo, did that mean, old desert burn your itty, bitty paws?" She made a baby face as she said this, and Jak and I glanced at each other and snickered.

"Hey, Tess, baby!" Dax replied, "Don't crusha the merchandise. How's biz?"

"I'm designing new guns to help out the war effort," Tess explained, picking up a gun she had been studying.

"Damn," I whispered to myself.

"You make guns now?" Jak asked in surprise.

Tess nodded proudly. "Yeah," she explained, "I just finished this new gun. It sports a multi-port, large-bore, gyro-burst launcher with blowback breech assist, using full-jacket, eco-depleted, armor-piercing slugs, and a continuous kill zone scanner for tight groupings at a high-cycle rate of fire." Jak, Daxter, and I all just glanced at each other, and Tess seemed amused by this.

"Hee hee," she giggled, "It's a hobby."

"Nice hobby," I commented, smiling, "It's good to see you again, Tess."

"Thanks," Tess thanked me just as Jak moved forward to take the Gyro-Burst Launcher.

"Not so fast!" Tess suddenly said, snatching the gun away, "First you have to prove you can protect my little schunuckums' in the new gun course." She pointed with her finger at the familiar gun course, and I remembered first learning how to use the Scatter Gun in there.

"Guess I'll go ahead," Jak decided, taking out the Blaster Gun and entering the gun course.

"I'll stay here with Tess," I told him, watching as the door shut behind him. As soon as they were gone, Tess turned to face me.

"So," she began, "Are you three okay? We were worried about you the whole time!"

I took a deep breath. "I guess," I replied, "Things got interesting out there, that's for sure."

"How?" Tess asked as she fixed the Gyro-Burst a little bit.

I laughed harshly. "Try meeting monks who hate your guts and being kidnapped by Count Veger," I told her.

"Aww," Tess said, "Did that happen to you?"

I just nodded and laughed again. What else could I do? "Veger's quite a character," I told her.

"He hasn't been doing this city right," Tess admitted, "Ashelin really hates him now."

"So do I," I concurred.

* * *

><p><em>The gun course wasn't hard at all. It reminded me of the old Gun Course from the last war, except this time, some of the cardboard cutouts of KG deathbots could actually hurt me. But with my trusty Blaster Gun and the Beam Reflexor, I managed to adjust to the new tactics. <em>

_ "So," Dax began, "Erol's back from the dead. I wonder how that happened?" _

_ "I don't know," I sighed, shooting some more enemies, "We all saw him blow up. How is this possible?" _

_ Erol. I had to admit I was shocked as well; Paige wasn't alone on that. The minute his face appeared, I found myself having flashbacks to the Dark Warrior Program. I could have changed right then and there, but I knew I would have to save that anger for something that deserved it, not the gun course. _

_ I, too, wondered what Erol meant by "enhancements". I guessed we would find out soon. _

_ Once we cleared the gun course, we remerged into the main room, where Tess and Paige were standing and waiting for us. "Nice job!" Paige complimented us, smiling. While I knew she was genuinely cheering for us, I also realized she was trying to cover up her distress over Erol. _

_ "Nice shooting, Jak," Tess added, "For a guy. Now, I want you to protect my little baby with this... or else I'll hunt you down and hurt you REAL bad. Okay? Hee hee." _

Whoa, _I thought. I didn't think Tess would ever get tough like that, but Dax seemed to like it. _

_ "Wow! I didn't know you had so much... rrawrr!" Dax replied, growling a little bit. Tess just smiled as she handed over the Gyro-Burst to me. _

_ My communicator beeped, and when I looked down, I saw it was Torn. "Torn's calling us," I announced, "You coming, Paige?" _

_ "Nah, I'm gonna hang out with Tess for a while," Paige decided, "You guys go ahead." _

_ "You sure?" Dax asked, batting his eyes. _

_ "I'm sure," Paige laughed, "I'm gonna see what else I can do around here." _

_ "All right, then," I said, "Good luck." She nodded, and Dax and I left to go back to the Naughty Ottsel. As soon as we got there, we found Torn waiting for us with yet another mission. We were back to that again, huh? _

_ "We've got some KG defenses we need eliminated," he explained, "Super range sniper cannons are keeping our men pinned down. Jak, you need to find those hidden cannons and take 'em out. There's sure to be a counter attack when they see what you're up to, so watch out! You know the routine!" Of course we did. _

_ "Yeah... we do all the work, you get all the credit!" Dax replied, and I cracked up as we left to go back to the Industrial Zone. _

_ We immediately spotted the super range sniper cannons Torn was talking about, and we got to work immediately as we began destroying them. Hopefully, this wouldn't take too long. I also wondered if we would ever have to go back to Spargus. To be honest, I liked it out there, and I wanted to return as soon as possible. Deep down, I knew Paige wanted to as well. _

_ KG deathbots were everywhere, but that didn't stop us from continuing to fight them. Now that we knew Erol was the one behind all this, we had to stop him at all costs. _

_ Once all the super range sniper cannons were taken care of, we decided to head back to the Naughty Ottsel to see if Torn wanted us to do anything else. As always, he did. What were Paige and Tess doing right now? _

_ "Jak, I need you to go into the sewers, into the Metal Head city section," Torn said, "We need to attack their hive from below and the sewers are the only way in right now. We haven't been in those old passageways since the war broke out, but no scouts have reported movement down there." _

_ Dax looked nervous. "Ummm... That's a good thing, right?" he stammered. _

_ "I mean, no scouts have ever come back alive to tell us." _Figures, _I thought. _

_ "Oh... OH!" Daxter cried, "Still giving us the crappy missions, huh?" _

_ "Dark, dirty, dangerous," I said, grinning to myself, "I'm beginning to like this war." Torn also smiled while Dax just face-palmed himself. _

_ "Come on, let's get out of here," I said to him as we returned to the chaos in the streets. _

_ The sewers weren't my favorite place, but I still craved the excitement. And with that, I took out the Vulcan Fury and waited for the gate to open, another smile forming on my face. _

* * *

><p>I winced the minute Tess and I exited the Gun Course and took in the sunrise. I had almost forgotten all this had taken place at night, since we left the Wasteland during the late hours.<p>

"Why did Veger kidnap you?" Tess asked as we began walking briskly back to the Naughty Ottsel.

I sighed and told her everything, reminding her about the mission I had gotten in the last war and the problems it was causing me with Veger now. When I was finished explaining myself, she just shook her head, clearly not surprised that Count Veger would do something like that.

"Say," I piped up, getting an idea, "Do you still remember how you managed to spy on Krew?"

"Of course," Tess replied in a bubbly voice, "Why?"

"Because I want to do a little snooping," I said, "I know Veger's got to be around here somewhere."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Tess asked, "After what he put you guys through?"

"No," I admitted truthfully, "But I have to know what he's up to."

"What are you guys talking about?" two familiar voices asked, and we looked up to see Eileen and David approaching us after fighting off more KG deathbots. Both of them had bad cuts on their faces, but they looked to be in good spirits against all odds.

"Spying on Veger," I piped up, "I want to know what he's doing."

"You sure you want to do that?" David asked.

"That's what I said," Tess told him.

"I'm not sure if it's the best idea," I admitted again, "But someone's got to do it while Jak's being a hero."

"We tried to get information out of him weeks ago," Eileen explained, "But he wouldn't tell us anything."

"He'll tell me," I assured her, "He's been trying to recruit me for months. I've got a plan."

"Then we're coming with you," David decided, "No way are we letting you go in there alone. I think the idea is crazy enough."

"We'll make sure nothing happens," Eileen added, and with that, we began heading over to a building that was a little ways down from South Town, but still somewhat out of the fray. Tess had said that Veger was in there, and hopefully, this would run smoothly. At the same time, Tess decided to return to the Gun Course so that she could continue working on more weapons.

"Jak, it's Paige," I said into my communicator, "I'm going to spy on Veger to see what he's up to. How are you holding up?"

"_Not bad,_" the renegade replied, "_Dax and I are heading to the Metal Head City area through the sewers. We're going to try and open more barriers._"

"Good luck," I said to them, "Let me know how it goes."

"_Good luck with Count Vulgar,_" Dax piped up next, though they didn't sound sure of this plan, either. I knew I would get a lukewarm reception about this, but I still had to know what was going on.

By the time we arrived at the building, I began to feel nervous. What would Veger say when he saw I was alive? If he saw that the robot hadn't killed me, he would know Jak was still around, too.

"This is where he is," Eileen whispered, and taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. The three of us waited in silence for a few more minutes until the door finally opened. _Mar, _I thought, _Please let this be as painless as possible. _

"Paige?" Veger asked in surprise at first before the shocked expression disappeared and a smug one took its place.

"Paige," he repeated, smirking as he placed his hands on my shoulders, "What a surprise to see you here." _Eww, _I thought as I shook him off.

"And you've brought friends," he continued, nodding at Eileen and David, who just glanced at each other and rolled their eyes.

"I gave you two orders to continue fighting in the Port," Veger reminded David and Eileen as he pointed at them.

"But Veger!" Eileen protested, "This is suicide! Do you honestly expect us to hold off all those deathbots for much longer?"

"Orders are orders, Miss Peterson," the Count said, smiling smugly, "But you've never exactly been good at remaining loyal to your superiors, have you?"

_Ouch, _I thought as Eileen frowned, and I remembered how she had been a spy for Erol in the last war, even though she eventually stopped working for him, too. It was something she wasn't proud of, just like I wasn't proud of the DWP. "That's different," she growled, "You're going to destroy the city if you keep this up!"

"You are mistaken. I'm trying to help the city."

"If you were really trying to help," David added, "You wouldn't be doing this!"

"I believe we discussed this already, Lloyd," Veger replied, "As far as I'm concerned, you're against me because you support Dark Eco."

"Shut up, Veger!" David snapped, "Just shut up."

"You two, leave," Veger ordered, "I want to speak with Paige alone."

Eileen backed up towards the door. "Don't worry, Paige," she whispered to me, "We'll be close by." And before she and David left, I felt her slip something into my pocket.

Veger turned his back to me for a second as the door shut, and while he wasn't looking, I took a peek at the floor and noticed shadows of feet. David and Eileen were still here! And that must have been a listening device they gave me.

"How did you and the Dark Eco Freak survive the power of the Precursors?" Veger asked, still not facing me.

"_Jak_'s got skill," I replied, emphasizing Jak's name, "And maybe the Precursors knew it wasn't our time yet."

"And you? What are you doing here?"

I took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing, _I thought. "After nearly being killed," I began, lying through my teeth, "I began to realize that you were right. I should have helped you from the start."

Veger raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked, "Go on."

"Count Veger," I sighed, cringing at the false promise that was about to come out of my mouth, "I'm ready to share some of my knowledge with you."


	14. Surprise!

Yay! Next chapter is here! Sorry for the wait again. Things have been getting pretty busy, and I'm starting volunteer work soon, so I have no idea how frequent my updates will be. Thanks again for the reviews, though. I really appreciate them. :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p><em>Too bad I don't have a camera right now, <em>I thought as I continued to watch Veger's thunderstruck expression, _Because this is totally a Kodak moment._

"What did you say?" the Count asked.

"You heard me," I said, "I'm ready to share some of my knowledge with you."

"But the monks said you didn't know anything," Veger replied, "At least, Seem didn't think you did."

_Damn, the monks sure love to gossip, _I thought. I shrugged, wondering how I was going to pull this off successfully. "We bonded over the last few weeks," I explained, "A secret's a secret, and she was trying to keep to her word. We don't tell anybody anything unless we really have to, and these are desperate times, aren't they?"

"I see no reason for Seem to lie to me," Veger countered, and I began to feel frustrated.

"Look," I huffed, "Do you want to know about the Precursors or not? This is my final offer. Take it or leave it." I narrowed my eyes in determination. This _had _to work. It just _had _to. It was clear that Veger was suspicious, though. Maybe he was more intelligent than we were giving him credit for. _This is going to take a while, _I thought.

"Well," Veger began, "You don't know how long I've waited for you to say that. I never thought you would finally agree with me about something. Come, sit down, and we'll discuss this." _Jackpot, _I thought triumphantly as we sat across from each other. I quickly glanced surreptitiously at the door to make sure David and Eileen were still there. Yep. They were.

"Your eyes still have the specks in them," the Count pointed out, "So I know you're not lying about that."

"Never," I assured him.

"You're going to tell me everything, correct? Aside from what the monks have already said?"

"Yes," I lied, "But first, I want information in return." Veger raised an eyebrow again. _Please, _I thought, _You knew that was coming next._

"Why are you so hell bent on destroying darkness?" I asked, "What did it ever do to you?"

"Next question," Veger decided, leaning back in his seat as he smirked at me.

I narrowed my eyes. "You _promised_," I growled.

"Next question," he repeated.

"What's so tough about this one?" I demanded.

"I don't believe that's any of your business, Paige," Veger answered.

"I've spoken to the Precursors," I reminded him, tapping at my white-speckled eyes, "You better damn well believe it's my business."

"If you must know," Veger replied, "I've felt this way for a long time. Darkness is lonely. It's only you in the silence that comes with it. I've never liked that feeling too much. It's a cruel one. I don't understand how you and Jak deal with it. Dark Eco, and darkness in general, are both disgusting things."

"Jak doesn't really have a choice, does he?" I retorted, feeling a tiny stab of guilt.

"No," the Count said, "But he is still an Eco Freak. And you're no better. That will change very soon, though. You'll see."

"But all light isn't good, either," I tried to reason, "You need both light and dark."

"Are you here to lecture me or share your knowledge?"

_Crap, _I thought, _Guess I'm getting a little carried away here. Then again…_

"That _is _what the Precursors told me," I lied, "That's why I asked in the first place."

Veger considered this for a minute. "Well," he quipped, "You didn't say that before. Are you certain of this?"

"Would I lie to you, Count Veger?" I asked innocently as I smiled and batted my eyes at the older man.

Veger was about to reply when we both suddenly heard the sound of a communicator, and I realized it wasn't mine. "_Veger!_" a familiar voice began, "_Are you there?_"

The smile on my face instantly disappeared. "Wait a minute," I muttered to myself as Veger smirked.

"Yes, I'm here," the Count spoke into the communicator, "And Paige is here as well, just like you said she'd be."

"_Paige,_" the voice echoed.

"_Erol?_" I gasped, "You talk to Veger? _What the hell? _How did you know I was here? And how did Veger know you were alive? How are you even alive, anyway?" _I was supposed to trick Veger, _I thought, _And it backfired on me. _

"_Next time,_" Erol replied in his new metallic voice as he conveniently avoided all my questions, "_Don't announce your plans through a communicator._" He was probably smirking as he said this.

"_Shit,_" I cursed under my breath as I faced Veger, "You _knew _I was coming? All those surprised faces were just an act?"

"I had an inkling," Veger explained, "And yes, they were. I have no doubt that you were telling the truth about your knowledge, but I wanted to hear you say it yourself so that you could prove the monks wrong. You can't fool me, Paige. None of you can."

"You…" I started, but didn't finish. What could I say? It _had _been my lack of thinking before acting that had gotten me into this mess.

"Did you know Erol was alive this whole time?" I demanded.

"Let's just say we've…been in close contact since the end of the first war," Veger answered, and I felt my mouth drop open in shock.

"But…how?" I asked. _God, I'm such an idiot! _I thought, using God's name for the first one in a while. I must have only done that when I was really upset about something.

"_You'll find out soon,_" Erol assured me, "_You all will._"

_Time to get out of here, _I thought as I glanced at Veger and stated, "I'm out of here."

"Oh, Paige," Veger replied, holding his hands out in front of him, "Surely you don't want to leave before telling me what you know?"

"All good things come to those who wait," I told him breezily as I allowed a grin to spread across my face. _This is going to be a long wait for you, Veger, _I added as a silent afterthought.

"_Well, you don't know how long I've waited to kill you and Jak,_" Erol fumed from the communicator.

"_Erol_," I growled, "Go blow up in another month's supply of Dark Eco! No, make that a _lifetime's _supply, since apparently, only a month wasn't enough!"

Erol scoffed from his end. "_That hurts, Paige,_" he replied, "_Just wait till I get my hands on you again!_" With that, I turned and bolted from the apartment.

"I'll speak with you again soon!" Veger called after me. _Shut up, _I thought as I threw the door open and fled back into the apartment. David and Eileen, who had moved out of the way, began running to catch up with me.

"Paige?" Eileen asked cautiously.

I shook my head. "Not here," I hissed, cocking my head back in the direction of Veger's door. The two of them nodded in understanding, and once we were out of the building, we returned to the Naughty Ottsel and sat down in the center of the room. I glanced around quickly and noticed that Torn must have stepped out for a while.

"You were right," I groaned as I tucked my knees into my chest, "That was a stupid idea. But you guys heard everything, right?"

"Yeah," David whispered, "Erol's really alive? How?"

"I don't want to know," Eileen piped up, shuddering, "We all know he blew up at the end of the Class One race!"

I sighed. "I can't believe I fell for that," I moaned, "Now Veger's going to hound me even more. _Mar, _I'm such an idiot sometimes."

"No, you're not," David assured me, "You just need to think before you act sometimes."

I laughed harshly. "You've got a point. I guess I've never been good at that, huh?" I replied, remembering how I had just immediately agreed to supply the Dark Eco for the DWP.

"At least we know why Veger hates the dark, though," I continued, "I managed to get that much from him." I shook my head as I said this.

"We better get back to this suicide mission," David decided, patting my shoulder, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," I told him, nodding, "You guys go ahead. You need to keep fighting to hold off the deathbots." The two of them nodded.

"Good luck," we all whispered to each other before the two of them dashed out the door and back into the chaos. I took a deep breath before standing up and leaving the Naughty Ottsel as well. I whipped out my Vulcan Fury and began shooting down any deathbots that tried to attack me. At the same time, I heard my communicator go off.

"_Hey, it's Orange Lightning!_" Dax announced from his end, "_You done with your suicide mission yet?_"

"Uhh…" I stammered, unsure of what to say. After that failure, I wasn't sure if Erol was listening in right now.

"The yakkow has left the pen," I stated cryptically, "Repeat, the yakkow has left the pen."

"_Ooo, we're speaking in codes now?_" the ottsel laughed, which put a smile on my face from my end.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"_In the Metal Head City section,_" Jak answered instead, "_We just finished here. Want to meet up?_"

"Sure," I said, "How do I get there?"

"_Just come by the entrance to where the gardens used to be._"

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll be there," I replied before hanging up.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A few minutes later…<strong>_

By the time I arrived at the Metal Head City section, I noticed a large barrier was blocking my way, and that Jak and Daxter were on the other side. "_Toots!_" Dax cried from his end of the communicator, "_Get out of the way!_"

"Why?" I asked.

"_Just move it!_"

A flash of purple caught my eye, and I quickly dove out of the way as the barrier suddenly exploded, and a charge of Dark Eco slammed into a nearby wall. Once everything was clear, I got up from my hiding position just as I noticed Dark Jak standing where the shield used to be. _Oh, that's why, _I thought as I made my way over to them.

Dark Jak remained where he was as he just stared at me and smirked. "Hey there," I greeted tentatively, "How are you doing?" _Me? _Having a conversation with _Dark Jak_? I never thought I would see that one coming.

Dark Jak just continued to smile as he tilted his head to the side. Suddenly, more Dark Eco crackled from his skin as he raised one of his claws in the air. "What are you doing?" I asked, taking a step back without my own volition.

A low, guttural sound echoed from Dark Jak, and it sounded like…laughter. "What's so funny?" I asked, smirking, "You were trying to scare me just now, weren't you?"

Dark Jak continued to laugh before he disappeared and Jak took his place. "He likes messing around with you," he explained, "It's a game he likes to play." He shrugged.

"I'm surprised he hasn't tried to kill me by now," I commented.

Jak was about to respond when we heard another voice pour from his communicator. "_Jak, my boy,_" Samos began, "_Samos here. I'm sure you're with him, Paige, so you should listen as well. While you're near the entrance to South Haven Forest, could you please go check out reports of a Dark Eco infestation there? It seems someone is still experimenting with Dark Eco. If you find infected plants, you must destroy them before they spread. There are some ancient Precursor pillars in the forest, and they have a link to the catacombs. But if the Metal heads overrun the place, We'll never know for sure. Make me proud!" _

"I'll come with you," I said to Jak and Daxter as we climbed on the closest Zoomer and began driving through the Metal Head section, "I have some things I want to tell you anyway." Jak just nodded and floored it, with me holding on tightly to his waist.

I had to gasp at the sight below me: the Metal Head City section looked awful! I couldn't believe this was where the gardens used to be; that had been one of my favorite locations in Haven City. To see it reduced to this brought tears to my eyes.

Haven Forest also looked different. It was no longer green and lush, but brown. "Damn," I muttered to myself.

"_Jak, Paige,_" Keira said to us next, "_You can kill those plants with your jet boards. Just scoop up Green Eco energy, and then lay it down over the plants." _

"That doesn't sound too tough," Dax replied as Jak and I both took out our jet boards and began cruising around on them.

Up ahead was a Green Eco vent, and after passing over it, we both managed to scoop up Green Eco in order to get to the plants in this area. I glanced down for a minute and noticed a trail of green light emitting from the bottom of the jet board.

"So what happened with Veger?" Jak asked as we continued to kill the Dark Eco-infected plants.

I sighed. "I failed," I admitted, "Miserably. It was a set up. Veger knew Erol was alive this whole time, and Erol was listening in when I was talking to you before. That's why I was speaking in code just now."

"How does _Vulgar _know about Erol?" Daxter questioned.

"I don't know," I shrugged, "He didn't say. Now he thinks I definitely know something about the Precursors. If he finds out I lied to him…" I didn't finish.

"We can take him," Jak declared, "Don't worry about it. You probably shouldn't have gone to spy on him, though."

"I shouldn't have," I agreed, "But he managed to tell me why he hates Dark Eco so much. Apparently, he thinks darkness equals loneliness and confusion, and he's afraid of that." Both Jak and Daxter rolled their eyes.

"He's just in over his head," Jak mused.

"As long as he keeps his distance, I'm good," I said, "I'm definitely not trying a stunt like that again." After that, we fell in silence as we finished taking out the infected plants. Once they were all gone, five pillars suddenly surfaced from the lake in the middle of the forest. "Whoa," we all gasped as we approached them.

"How long have those been here?" I whispered to myself as Samos explained the importance of these pillars through Jak's communicator.

"A long time," Jak answered, "We'll probably have to do something with them later. Let's get out of here." Nodding, I began to follow him back to the gate, and I wondered briefly if we were going to get another mission. Unlike the last war, we couldn't stop and take as many breaks as we wanted to.

While we performed tricks with the jet board, Torn radioed in to us. "_Jak, we've located four critical power junctions,_" he said, "_If we destroy them, we can drop some of the shields. Our bomb expert, Jinx, can blow the junctions if you can get him to each one and protect him while he's laying the charges. You remember Jinx? He's waiting in a vehicle outside. Happy blastin'." I guess Torn doesn't know I'm with the demolition duo again, _I thought to myself.

"Jinx," Jak echoed, "How could I forget? I had to protect him last time, too."

"I've never met him," I said, "He's the one who blew up Mar's Statue in the Sewers, right?"

"That's the one," Jak confirmed as he frowned. That had always been a sore point for him.

"His goons aren't with him, I noticed," Dax added as we were going back through the gate.

I shrugged, and as soon as we began walking down the ramp, we spotted a two-seat Zoomer, as well as our one-seat one from earlier. In the first Zoomer was a blond, muscular man with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Hey there, pretty boy," the man greeted, who I assumed was Jinx, "You ready to rock and rumble?"

"Let's do this," was all Jak said as he took over the wheel. Meanwhile, I climbed onto the other Zoomer and followed them out of the Metal Head City section.

Jinx turned to face me as I cruised along next to them, and he took his cigarette out of his mouth for an instant. "Who's the babe?" he asked, smirking at me, "I've never seen you around here before, sweet cheeks. Not with those ears."

I involuntarily found myself blushing, which amused him to no end. "I'm Paige," I introduced myself, "Jinx, right?"

"You got it, sugar. You new here?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head, "I was around during the first war. You worked for Krew, right?"

"Sure did," Jinx said, puffing on his cigarette, "But I'm rolling with Torn now."

_Hmm, _I thought. "Did you know a woman named Lena by any chance?" I asked, but before the explosives expert could answer, we stopped in front of the first power junction. Jinx immediately jumped out of the car and began laying down charges.

"Cover me while I lay down these charges!" he cried, and Jak and I drew out our weapons as we took out the Metal Heads that were trying to attack us. Once he was finished, he climbed back into the Zoomer, and Jak followed suit while I hopped onto my one-seat vehicle. The next few weren't too tough, except for the huge waves of Metal Heads that constantly attacked us. Along the way, I decided to ask more about Lena. Hopefully, Jinx would know her, especially since she had told me she worked for Krew.

"So did you know a woman named Lena?" I asked when we got to the third power junction.

"A _long _time ago, sweetheart," Jinx answered.

"Did you two work together?" Jak asked over the loud noise.

"Sometimes," Jinx explained, "Whenever Krew needed us to blow something up, he always called on me, Lena, Mog, and Grim." He glanced up at us for a second before returning to work.

"How do you two know her?" he questioned.

"We saw her out in the Wasteland a few weeks ago," I retorted, "She mentioned working for Krew and going on artifact runs with Sig."

"Those were the days. She was working with Krew so that she could get close to the Krimzon Guard and the Council, since Krew was wired into the city. One day, she caught the chairman of the Council…Count Veger, right?" Jak and I nodded quickly before finishing up and driving over to the last power junction.

"Anyway, she caught him doing something strange-she never told me what it was-and he worked hard to get the whole city to turn against her. Nobody stood up for her when he was voting to have her banished, and that was the last time I saw her."

"You didn't defend her?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was out of town that day," Jinx responded, "I had no clue." I just nodded.

"There's the last power junction!" Dax cried, and Jinx instantly jumped down and began planting the last few charges while we covered him. The information he had told us about Lena was surprising. So she had caught Veger doing something shady, huh? I wondered what it was.

"Paige!" Jak cried a few minutes later, and I jumped as I felt him and Jinx drag me away from the power junction just as it exploded.

"Whew," I sighed, "That was a close one!"

"_Sweet eco, guys!_" Torn complimented once he realized I was with them, "_You did it! You've got us deeper into KG territory!_"

"I knew it wouldn't be so tough!" Dax replied, grinning.

"Nice work, Jakky boy!" Jinx agreed, grinning as he put a cigarette back in his mouth, "I'm gonna go see what I can scrounge up. See ya on the flip side! Nice meeting you, too, sweet cheeks." And with another wink, he began to drive away.

"Jinx!" I cried after him, "Thanks for telling me all that about Lena."

"No problem," he replied, "Good luck." He then lifted his mask up again and flew away.

"Paige!" Jak cried, "Over here!"

I turned around to see Jak waving at me. "What's up?" I asked as I jogged over to him.

"Ashelin just called. She wants us to steal a Zoomer with extra eco," he explained, "Let's go." _Oh, boy, _I thought as I followed them.

* * *

><p><strong>As soon as Paige was gone, I sighed as I glanced down at the communicator again. Erol was still on the other line. "She's gone," I reported to him, "I think we rightfully scared her enough." <strong>

** "**_**Hmm,**_**" Erol hummed, "**_**She hasn't changed at all. Neither of them have.**_**" **

** "Are you going to get rid of them as soon as you confront them again?" I asked, "Whenever that may be?" **

** "**_**Yes. And this time, I'm actually going to go through with it.**_**" **

** I cringed. I knew he was going to use Dark Eco, and that was the only thing I disagreed with him on. Other than that, it was more than all right with me. "You do that," I replied, and I hung up with him. **

** I knew one thing for sure now: Paige wasn't lying about her knowledge. I knew she would see things my way. All I had to do now was force the information out of her, combined with that of the monks, and I would be one step closer to my goal. And I would stop Erol, too.**


	15. Words and Artifacts

And we're back! Sorry for the long gap in updating, as well as the shorter chapter. I've been doing volunteer work for the last few days, and I'll probably continue to do so for the rest of the summer. No worries, though. I haven't forgotten about this story! Thanks again to everyone for the reviews! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>I had to admit this was one time I appreciated Jak's fast driving.<p>

As we entered the Port, I watched as Dax took Jak's Blaster Gun and began shooting at some of the decoys in front of us in order to get the missiles off track. "That's it!" I cheered, "You've got it!"

"_Keep going!_" Torn shouted from his end of the communicator.

Jak continuously switched between hover zones as we activated all the decoys in the area. I squeezed my eyes shut tight as I held onto his waist.

Suddenly, we watched as Dax shot the last decoy and exploded from another missile. Unfortunately, there was still one more missile on our tail. "There's still another missile!" the ottsel screamed, "And no more decoys!"

"What do we do?" I cried over the wind.

"_Drive towards the Naughty Ottsel!_" Torn commanded, "_We'll use the bar sign as the last decoy!_"

"_What?_" Dax spat, but Jak made a sharp turn to the right and began flying towards the bar. Down below, Torn was waiting for us as he glanced from us to the sign.

"You can make it," he said, "Crank that sign up to full brightness!" In front of us, the ottsel head lit up and stood upright.

"Hang on, guys!" Jak warned, "It's gonna be close!" I squeezed Jak's waist even more, and Dax dug his paws into his friend's shoulder as he flew towards the sign and then shot up vertically, looping upside down as the missile crashed into the sign.

"Whoa!" I gasped as I felt a minor blood rush, which disappeared as soon as Jak flipped us right side up. We watched as sparks shot out of the sign, and Dax looked horrified.

"AHHHHH!" he screamed, "My beautiful mug!" The destroyed mug flew in the air and landed on the wavering pitchfork.

"Sorry, Dax," Jak apologized as he lowered us to the ground and handed the vehicle over to Torn.

"Thanks, you two," he thanked us, "We owe you big for this."

"No problem," I sighed as I wiped my forehead.

"Come inside," he said, "I have another mission for Jak." We quickly followed him inside, where we spotted David and Eileen waiting for us at the bar itself.

Torn sighed as he rested his fists on the communicator in front of us. "Jak, we've got word of a new assault on the Port," he said, "They're trying to take us out once and for all! The strange thing is, we're seeing movement from both the KG and Metal Head fronts. It's like they're working together. We've got to repel this assault or we're through! I hate to do this to you, but I'm puttin' you on the front line. You're my go to guy! Stop any KG or Metal Head units from reaching this place. If we lose this one, we're history!" Jak just nodded and reloaded all his weapons.

"Good luck!" I cried to him as he and Dax turned and left the Naughty Ottsel. I sighed before facing Eileen and David.

"What's up?" I asked them.

"We're on a break from fighting right now," Eileen panted, "Torn thought it would be a good idea if the Freedom League worked in shifts." I just nodded.

"Are you and Jak okay?" David asked with concern.

"We're fine," I assured him, "And you know Jak. He's _always _fine."

"He's one of the best soldiers we've got," Torn piped up in agreement, "I still feel bad that we couldn't stop Count Veger."

"Meh, it's done now," I told him, "No sense in still being hung up over it. Though speaking of Count Veger…" I glanced over at David.

"You said that he was saying things about us while we were gone," I continued, "What did he say?"

David gulped and looked down at the floor as Eileen patted his shoulder. "Are you sure you want to know?" he asked.

"It couldn't be that bad," I said, "Right?"

"I'll just tell her," Eileen decided, "When you guys first got banished, all Veger ever talked about was how glad he was that you and Jak were gone. Then I guess he somehow found out you two were alive and in Spargus. Yeah, Ashelin told us about meeting you guys out there. Anyway, he then kept saying things like, 'He's been touched by Dark Eco. They'll never accept him. But she's still pure. They'll let her in. She'll help me.'"

"And then he kidnapped me," I muttered to myself.

"He _what_?" Torn spat.

"He _kidnapped _you?" David cried next, "You didn't tell us that! All we heard about was him trying to kill you and Jak with that robot!" _That's right,_ I thought, _They heard him talk about that when I went to spy on him before._

"He gagged me, blindfolded me, and then dragged me all the way out to Monk Temple. He just wanted to talk."

"Did he hurt you at all?" Eileen asked calmly as she knelt down in front of me, "Did he…you know…"

"Eileen!" I hissed, my face turning red as Torn and David looked away, "No, he didn't touch me inappropriately. He didn't hurt me, either. We just talked."

"He's not really the type of person to engage in that, anyway," David said, "He's too wrapped up in the Precursors."

"Damn right he is," Torn agreed, "We've got to find a way to bring him down."

At that moment, Jak and Daxter walked back into the bar, sporting cuts and bruises on their faces. "Are you guys okay?" I asked.

"We're fine," Jak assured us, "The Metal Heads and deathbots seem to be backing off for now."

"That's good," Torn sighed in relief.

"I wanna go see Tess," Dax declared, "Take a break from all this adventuring stuff."

"Think she's still at the Gun Course?" I chuckled.

"Of course!" the ottsel replied, "Come on!"

I waved to Eileen and David as I followed the demolition duo out of the bar. We walked over to the Gun Course, and as soon as we went inside the small room, Dax scurried over to Tess and hugged her from behind.

"Daxter!" she gasped, "My hero!" She scooped him up into his arms and cradled him. _Just ignore us, _I thought to myself.

"Ahh!" she cried, "This city is too dangerous. We need our own little place in the country... a little pink house... with a white picket fence... and a fireplace... and a big four poster bed for me... and a little Ottsel run on the side of the house for you." Jak and I just glanced at each other, and he rolled his eyes while I tried not to laugh.

"Oh, are you worried about me, my little Tessy-poo?" Dax cooed in a voice I had never heard him use before.

"Of course, my itty, bitty whisker-puss."

"How cute," I whispered under my breath.

"Oh, _please_," Jak cut in as I covered my mouth to hide my laughter, "Will you two take it outside?" Dax and Tess finally turned to face us.

"You need a hug, Jak?" Dax asked, "Cause we got plenty to go around."

With that, I wrapped my arms around Jak as I hugged him. "Thanks, Paige," he thanked me as the others chuckled.

"No problem," I said, letting go of him as Tess got up from the ground.

"Rumor is, you three are the only hope we've got to reach the catacombs," she said, "I've programmed the gun course to simulate some of the new enemy tactics. Wanna try it out?"

"Sure," Jak replied, moving forward to enter the Gun Course. As soon as he was gone, I faced Tess, who went back to working on the gun mod in front of us.

"How did it go with Veger?" she asked.

"Bad," I admitted, "He knew I was coming. Now he thinks I definitely have knowledge about the Precursors. What's he going to do if he finds out it was all a hoax?"

"Just keep on guard," Tess advised, "There's only so much he can do with all of us around."

"True," I agreed, "I just hope he isn't planning anything else. And he better not drag Jak into this, either. He's going through enough as it is, being the hero and all, and he doesn't need this extra stress."

After a few more minutes of waiting, Jak and Daxter finally completed the Gun Course, and Tess grabbed the new gun mod as she approached them.

"Not bad shooting, dark boy," she said, tossing Jak the gun mod, "Here's a nice boomstick for your sidekick, baby. Go give 'em hell! Then come back and I'll scratch you behind your ears." She grinned at Daxter as she said the last part.

"Will do," I replied, "Thanks, Tess." And with that, we exited the Gun Course.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hours later…<strong>_

"Paige!" Jak cried as I emerged from the ladies' room in the Naughty Ottsel.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Sig just called us," he reported, "He wants us back out in the Wasteland."

"Really?" I gasped, "Already? We've only been back in Haven City for a day!"

"I know," Jak said, "But it sounds like he needs us out there." He smiled.

"Besides," he added, "I'm starting to miss the sun a little bit."

_He's got a point there, _I thought. After being in Spargus for weeks, I had begun to miss it, too. "Are you leaving right now?" I asked.

"Yeah," the renegade replied, "Want to come?"

"Hell yeah!" I shouted, and after leaving a note for Torn to tell everyone we were going back out to Spargus, we made our way over to the blue transport in the Port.

The sun was just starting to set as we climbed out of the vehicle and set foot in the desert once again. "Ahh, it's good to be back!" I sighed. I decided that while I was here, I would find Lena and ask her more about her banishment. I also needed to see Seem, too.

"Tell me about it," Jak said, leading me over to the city gate. Sure enough, Sig was standing by the Sand Shark. "Hello, cherries!" he greeted.

"Hey, Sig!" I replied, "What's going on?"

Sig nodded to the desert. "Another storm is really churning the sand!" he shouted, "Scanners show a few new artifact sightings. You three up for some rough ridin'?"

"Sure," Jak answered, "I can race with the best of 'em!" He climbed into the Sand Shark while I followed suit. Another artifact run, huh? I always wanted to go on one of these.

"Good. Take the vehicle and bring us back some booty. You know the drill. Get to the artifacts first and they're yours to claim... Wastelander rights! Go get 'em!" And with that, Jak stepped on the gas pedal as he tore out of the garage.

"So this is what the last artifact run was like?" I shouted as I reached down and picked up the first artifact.

"Yeah!" Jak yelled, "Just watch out for the Marauders! I'll drive, and you and Dax pick up the artifacts!"

"Okay!" I said, and I kept an eye out for the artifacts as Jak continued to drive and Dax operated the guns.

Jak wasn't kidding about the Marauders: they were _everywhere!_ They must have been looking for the same artifacts we were, but with our combined efforts, we managed to avoid all of them. The Sand Shark flipped over a few times, but I sighed with relief once I managed to grab another artifact out of the sand.

"AHH!" Dax cried as a few bullets sailed towards us, and I ducked my head as one barely grazed my arm. The sand storm was also getting stronger, and I hoped we would be able to get back before it got any worse.

We were on our way back to the city when I reached down and picked up the last artifact: something called the Holo Cube. "I wonder what this could be for," I said to my friends as we parked in the garage once again.

"_Jak, Paige, the Holo Cube!_" Keira piped up from our communicator, "_That's one of the artifacts we need for the pillars in the forest! Good work!_"

"I guess that answers our question," Jak declared, "Let's get back to our apartment." We reentered the city and made our way back to the apartment Damas had given us when we first arrived here.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next morning…<strong>_

Being back in Spargus felt good.

As Jak, Dax, and I all ate breakfast and enjoyed watching the sunrise, I thought about my agenda for the day: Find Seem first, and then Lena later on. "Think Sig wants us to do anything else?" Dax asked.

"Probably," Jak replied as he drank some water, "I'm going to ask him about being a spy. What was that all about?"

"Beats me," I said, shrugging, "Everyone seems to be getting suspicious now."

"Are you still working with the monks?"

"I guess so. I'm going to find Seem after we finish eating."

Sure enough, Sig ended up calling Jak and Daxter, asking them to meet him by the Gila Stomper in the garage. "We're gonna go meet Sig," Jak announced to me, "Catch you later?"

"Sure," I said, "Good luck."

"Thanks. Good luck with Seem."

I laughed. "I'll need it."


	16. Revelations

Here's the next chapter! I know there hasn't been too much action in these past two chapters, but I wanted to build more on the mystery. Thanks again for the reviews and supports! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p><em>Like always, we found Sig in the Gila Stomper as soon as we arrived outside the Metal Head Nest. "There you are!" he cried, "I was beginning to think you'd chickened out. I saw an Eco Crystal in this place and it's yours if you want it. Trouble is, Metal Heads have been spotted here in mass. But we wouldn't want those nasty boys to just move back in here without a welcoming party would we? Let's go give 'em a big surprise!" <em>

Oh, yeah, _I thought as I climbed into the vacant seat next to Sig. "Where's Paige?" he asked once we were on our way into the nest. _

_ "She had to take care of some things back in the city," was all I said, "With Lena and Seem." Sig just shook his head at this. _

_ "Poor Lena," he said under his breath, "Just thrown out of Haven the way she was. Figures. Maybe it was a good thing she came out here instead." _

_ Remembering the story Jinx had told all of us, Dax and I just sighed as we finally made it inside. The first thing we heard was a rumble, followed by a squealing noise, and when we looked up, we got the surprise of our lives. _

_ "Whoa!" Dax gasped as a Metal-Pede soared over our heads and into the ground behind us. That had to be the largest Metal Head we'd seen so far, even larger than the Metal-Saurs. _

_ "There's the first one up ahead!" Sig shouted, and with that, I drove as close to it as possible in order to get it. We took a little bit of damage in the process, but managed to shoot the first Metal-Pede. _

_ "There's another one over there!" I yelled, and I floored it, driving over to the next one's location. This one was just as ferocious as the first one, but we had little to no issues taking this one down, either. _

_ By the time we got to the last Metal-Pede, we were feeling confident, and I felt Dax hold onto the Gila Stomper as I shot at it, effectively killing it and getting rid of all of them at last. "Let's get out of here!" Sig cried, and I turned the car around as we drove out of the Nest. Along the way, he took a deep breath and grinned. _

_ "Yeah baby!" he cried, "I love the smell of burnt Metal Head! This is good practise for when the spit hits the fan, and trust me, it's coming." _

_ Now was my time to ask. "What's Damas got to do with Haven City, Sig?" I asked. _

_ For some reason, Sig looked defensive. "None of your business," he growled. _

_ "What was all that spying you did, huh?" Dax piped up next. _

_ "Let's just say, Damas lost a little something in the city, and he wanted me to find it," Sig reluctantly explained, "What do you care, man? Haven folk are a bunch of weaklings... you know that! They'd already lost the war before it started. Luckily, Damas has a plan to make sure we all survive." _Sounds just like Lena, _I thought. I could see where she got some of her attitude towards Haven from. _

_ "You're playing with people's lives!" I retorted. _

_ "Why not?" Sig said harshly, "They played with mine. Survival of the fittest, baby. I suggest you get with the program and be on the winning side." _

_ "And which side is that?" I questioned. _

_ "The one on top of the pile. Unfortunately, it's gonna be a big pile." _

_ "Yeah!" Dax agreed, "A big pile of…should I cock this?" He lifted the Peacemaker in the air. _

_ "So now what?" I asked. _

_ "Just keep your nose clean and stay sharp. I'll tell ya when the action's coming." _

_ By the time we got to the garage, we spotted Kleiver just returning as well. But from where? _

_ "Kleiver!" I cried. _

_ "Well, well," Kleiver replied, "Looks like the ankle biters have returned." _

_ "Kleiver," I repeated, ignoring his jibe, "I need to find some very special Precursor artifacts, but I'm running out of time." _

_ "Wait a tic," he said, looking thoughtful, "I just traded a very rare artifact indeed, to a nice band of Metal Heads. It was an ugly piece of hardware, looked like a dog's breakfast to me. But those toothers paid handsomely. They seemed nice enough. Good ivories they had, ya know if you dig fangs and claws. I bet if you crank up that donk, you and the offsider just might be able to catch 'em." _

_ "I thought you didn't like Metal Heads," I reminded him. _

_ "I'll drive!" Sig decided, "Jak, you get on the gun! Daxter, just get in, sit down, and shut up!" Dax glared at him as we all climbed into the Gila Stomper yet again. I held on as Sig peeled out of the garage and began driving at maximum speed. _

_ "And Paige thinks we're fast drivers!" Dax mused, making me chuckle just as I pointed the guns at the first Metal-Saur we saw. _

_ At least we knew more about Sig's time in Haven City, and it didn't sound like anybody knew about this mission, either. What had Damas lost? And would Sig ever find it? _

* * *

><p>Walking through the Spargus City streets felt almost as natural as breathing. I could see why Jak missed it so much.<p>

I managed to find a Leaper lounging around right outside the apartment, and after glancing around, I quickly climbed onto it and began riding by the fruit stands and the beach. During the two weeks I had been forced to work with Seem, she had taught me how to use the Leaper to take a shortcut to Monk Temple.

"Easy there," I whispered to the Leaper as it spread its wings and began to glide in the air. I loved the sensation. It was liberating.

"Paige!" a voice cried out to me, making me lose my focus as the Leaper grinded to a halt in the sand below me.

"Lena!" I shouted just as I spotted the raven-haired girl standing by the beach. She just smirked as she readjusted the bun on the back of her head.

"I was wondering where you, Jak, and Daxter disappeared yesterday," she replied.

"We somehow got called back to Haven City," I explained as I dismounted from the Leaper, "But we had to come back out here to look for some artifacts for Haven Forest." Lena narrowed her eyes at the mention of Haven City.

"So how is Haven?" she asked.

"It hasn't burned to the ground yet, I can tell you that," I told her, "Though speaking of Haven…" I glanced around for a minute.

"I'm on my way to the Temple now," I said, "Want to join me?"

"Sure," Lena decided, grabbing a hold of another Leaper close by and following me as I began to head towards the Temple.

"I ran into an old friend of yours in Haven," I explained to Lena, "Jinx. Ring a bell?"

Lena widened her eyes. "Jinx?" she echoed, "You know him, too?"

"I just met him. Jak knew him from the last war. He told me about what happened between you and Veger."

At this, Lena glared at me. "Yeah?" she asked sharply, not bothering to deny anything, "What about it? Does it make you feel better that you know why I was banished?"

I was startled by her sudden attitude. "No need to get testy with me, Lena," I responded, "I was just pointing it out."

"It's in the past, Paige. No need to bring it up again."

"Why are you trying to run away from it? What did you catch Veger doing?"

"Paige!" Lena snapped, "Can we not talk about this?"

"I just want to know," I said, "It may help us in taking down Veger."

"What if I go back and everyone blames me again? Then what? How can I show my face in a place where I'm not wanted? Even if Haven wasn't the best city, it was still my home. I can't, Paige. I just can't."

I was shocked into silence for a second. I had _never _seen this side of Lena before. _I guess she's more vulnerable than I thought she was, _I thought to myself, _All those things she said about wanting Haven to burn must have been a way to cover this up_. "But you didn't do anything wrong," I responded in a gentle voice, "You know that and I know that. Even _Jinx _knows it." Lena just sighed and shook her head just as Monk Temple came into view.

"How could you and Jak return to Haven after what they did to you?" she asked quietly.

"Believe me, it wasn't easy," I assured her, "But Jak doesn't care about what they think. And neither should you."

"Whatever," Lena replied, returning to her tough, Wastelander attitude, "I just realized I've got to get back to the city. I'll see you later." And before I could say anything else, she was gone, riding her Leaper back into the desert.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the temple and dismounted from the Leaper. It was quiet, like always, and I treaded the familiar path to the main worshipping room. The first thing I heard when I arrived at my destination was the sound of chanting.

"Precursors," Seem whispered as she remained kneeling on the floor, and as the other monks continued to chant, I quietly took my shoes off and went to join them, kneeling down right next to Seem.

"You have returned, Short Ears," she said, as if she had sensed I was there. It was strange; I used to find her designated nickname for me to be insulting, but now…I wasn't sure anymore. She no longer used a hostile tone of voice whenever she referred to me as "Short Ears".

"Yes, I've returned," I echoed, "Jak's back, too."

"So he is," the monk said, getting up as the other monks continued their ritual. I hurriedly slipped my boots on in the process.

"I heard about what happened between you and Count Veger," she explained as we walked out of the room together, "He told me that you said you really do have knowledge about the Precursors." She didn't look too happy about this.

I frowned for a second. I wanted nothing more than to tell Seem that I had been lying to Veger in order to get closer to him, but I also knew she might go back and tell him about the hoax. I couldn't risk that, as selfish as it sounded. "Seem," I sighed, "It's not what you think…"

"Just when I was starting to trust you, you lied to us!" The hostility was back.

_The monks aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, it seems, _I thought, sighing to myself. This situation was getting messier every minute. "I'm not going to fight over this with you," I decided, holding a hand up.

"Why did you act like you didn't know anything, then?"

_Because I don't! _I wanted to scream, but I knew I couldn't confide in her right now. "Believe whatever you want," I replied, "I'm sure the Precursors will reveal the truth to you over time."

"Somebody is lying. I just can't tell if it is you or Count Veger." _So Seem is pretty sharp, _I thought, _She's just confused. _

"You're smart, Seem," I said, "When the time is right, you'll know."

"We have been working together for two weeks. Why can't you just tell me?"

Oh, Mar. I was going to regret this. "Because I…" I stammered, "I can't trust you right now."

With that, I turned and fled from the Monk Temple before Seem could insult me any further. It was wrong of me to keep things from her and her monks. I was aware of that. But it was a necessary evil.

* * *

><p>It was no surprise that I was feeling wiped out by the time I got back to Spargus. Riding around in the desert had taken its toll on me, and I wanted nothing more than to just go to sleep. I spotted Lena up in the watchtower, but she took no notice of me. I shouldn't have pried into her personal business, but if Jak could keep his head up and return to Haven City, then so could she. I knew she was made of tough material.<p>

I removed my shoes again as I walked along the beach, glancing up at the sky, where the Day Star was still located. It was growing brighter with each passing day, and I felt a chill go down my spine. I wondered if Erol had something to do with that.

Erol. I shuddered again at the mere thought of the ex-KG Commander. How had he been resurrected? Better yet, _who _had brought him back to life?

A wave of water hit my ankles as the tide rolled in, and gasping, I closed my eyes as I had a flashback to a conversation I had had with Erol one year after the Dark Warrior Program began.

_ "I want to show you something," Erol announced once I was finished handing over the latest supply of Dark Eco from the storage room._

"_What is it?" I asked._

"_A revolution." _

_Gulping, I followed him out of the room I was situated in as we walked down the hallway. _

"_I'm normally not supposed to show anybody the Baron's classified plans," the Commander mused, "But I know you won't tell anyone. You're a good girl." _

"_Yeah," was all I said. Erol punched some codes into the number pad next to us and led me inside. _

"_And here we are," he quipped. _

_ I blinked my eyes as I looked around at all the mechanical limbs and armor. "What's all this for?" I asked. _

"_Praxis is in the middle of building Krimzon Guard deathbots," Erol explained, "In case the Metal Head threat gets too strong. We've been able to hold them off so far, but this is a backup plan." _

_ "Damn," I whispered under my breath, "I'm impressed." And at the time, I was. I reached out to pick up a mechanical arm when the Commander stopped me. _

_ "Don't touch that," he ordered, "One of my men might need that one day." _

"_Really?" I asked, "I haven't seen any Krimzon Guards with mechanical limbs." _

_ "That's because we only use these if they lose a body part or two. We've got mechanical limbs for every single part possible. Legs, arms, torsos, eyes, hands, you name it." _

_I chuckled. "Always prepared, huh?" I joked. _

"_You never know when you're going to need it." _

Another wave of water engulfed my bare feet, bringing me back to the present, and as I gazed up at the Day Star again, it suddenly hit me. The mechanical limbs Praxis built! _That _was how Erol was resurrected! _That _was what he meant by "enhancements". But what did he look like now?

Grabbing my boots, I tucked them under my arm as I turned away from the beach and began to run through the city barefoot. I had to find Jak and Daxter. I had to tell them about this.

Fortunately, I spotted them emerging from the garage with Sig. "Jak! Dax!" I shouted, waving them over, "Sig!" They glanced up at me, and I sprinted over to them.

"Hey, toots!" Dax greeted, "Running barefoot through the desert?"

I glanced down at my feet. "I guess so," I said, "How was your mission?"

"Pretty good," Jak reported, "We found two more artifacts for the forest."

"Cool," I commented.

"How were Paint Face and Lena?" Dax piped up next.

"Interesting," I sighed.

"You managed to speak to Lena?" Sig asked.

I nodded. "She got really defensive, though," I added quickly, "I'm going to give her some time."

"Being banished was always a sore point for her," Sig said, "Well, I'm gonna go see what else I can do around here. Bye, cherries." And with that, he was gone.

"Seem's gone back to hating my guts, it seems," I told my friends as we sat on some pavement for a minute. I proceeded to tell Jak and Daxter about my conversations with her and Lena.

"Sounds like it's gonna take a while for them to come around," Dax commented.

"I know," I agreed, "But you know why I can't talk to Seem right now, right?"

"If she's going to go back and tell Veger, then yeah," Jak mused, "We also found out what Sig was doing in Haven City all these years."

"Really?" I asked, widening my eyes.

"Apparently, Damas sent him there to look for something," Jak explained, "But what, we don't know."

"I wonder what Damas lost," I wondered as I cupped my chin into my hands in thought.

"Let's go ask him!" Dax suggested, and we were getting up so that we could head to the Palace.

"I also realized what Erol meant by 'enhancements'," I said, and as we climbed onto the elevator in the Palace, I told them about the Commander showing me the secret KG deathbot project.

"Really?" Dax cried, "And you never told anyone about that?"

"I didn't think I would need to," I reasoned, "But now seems like a good time, _especially _since he's back."

With a clank, the elevator stopped in the throne room, and the first thing we spotted was Damas sitting by himself on the ground. He was staring down at the sand in deep thought, and Jak and I glanced at each other before the blond teen decided to approach the King of Spargus. Something in my gut was telling me _not_ to join them in their conversation, and Dax seemed to read my mind.

"I saw some Precursor Orbs by those plants over there," he whispered to me, "Let's go check 'em out."

"Right behind you," I whispered in response, and we moved away from Jak as he went to sit next to Damas. I pretended to grab an orb to study it as Dax began swimming a few laps in the water right next to me.

"Keeping people alive out here," Damas began as Jak sat next to him, "Keeping them full of hope…it can be daunting."

"I'd say you made a good life here," Jak replied.

"You, too, must make a life, Jak," Damas advised as he grabbed a fistful of sand, "Take your destiny into your own hands. Look... sand cannot keep a shape by itself, but add water and it becomes malleable. Fate can be such, if you add the right element."

"Eco!" Jak cried, and I glanced up at him as Damas smiled. I then returned to my Precursor Orb.

"Our minds think alike. My monks say the world is coming to an end, but I am a survivor. I say we live on long after this world dies! Be ready. You are shaping up to be one of my finest warriors, and I'll need you for the trials ahead. I mustn't lose you like I lost…my son." They stood up, and Dax and I both glanced up in shock.

"You had a child?" Jak asked.

Damas sighed. "Long ago, but much has been sacrificed in this war so that others could live. Anyway, it matters not. We're having serious trouble with marauders lately. I want you to take a vehicle and hunt down their warrior patrols. Go, and make war your own!" He smiled at all of us as Dax and I went to join our friend so that we could all take part in this mission. We were about to leave when Damas called out to us again.

"And Paige!" he said. I turned to face him.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I see how loyal you are to your friends," he noted, "Keep that alive, you understand?"

"Yes, sir," I said, nodding and bowing slightly as the three of us left the throne room.

"So Damas had a son, huh?" Dax asked quietly, "That must be what Sig was looking for in Haven."

"I wonder who his son was," Jak added the closer we got to the garage.

I thought about the odd connection I had been picking up between Jak and Damas. "Yeah," I echoed, "So do I."


	17. Rejection

All right! Finally, here's the next chapter of "Fight the Power"! Sorry for the long gap in updating! I've been busy with volunteer work, and my cousin was visiting for the last week, so I was really busy, but I'm back now! Thanks again to everyone that reviewed! Enjoy this next chapter! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Why couldn't things be simpler? <strong>_

_** That question ran rampant in Seem's head for the next couple of hours. Her tense discussion with Paige left her on edge. She wanted to believe the short-eared girl. She really did, but she just couldn't. Who was lying, and who was telling the truth? Paige Smith or Count Veger? **_

_** "Seem," a deep voice suddenly called to the monk, and she turned around as the Precursor Oracle in front of her came to life. **_

_** "You seem very conflicted," it pointed out, "What is troubling you?" **_

_** "I do not know what to believe anymore," Seem explained, "Short Ears-Paige- says one thing, but then I hear another." That was shocking. That was the first time she had said Paige's name out loud. **_

_** "She has done many things she regrets," the Oracle replied, "But do not judge her over this. You will eventually see." **_

_** "But Count Veger promised me that I would meet you." **_

_** "And you will. When the time comes, you'll know." **_

_** Seem bowed her head for a minute. She knew the Oracle was right, but when it would be right was a mystery. **_

_** That was when it happened. **_

_** "Seem! Seem!" a frantic voice cried as two of the monks stumbled into the main worshipping room. **_

_** "The Marauders have stolen the Prism!" one of them shouted, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. **_

_** "No," Seem hissed, "That is not possible." **_

_** "It just happened! What do we do?" **_

_** Seem narrowed her eyes in thought. Although it killed her to admit it, she knew what she had to do. Pulling out her communicator, she began speaking into it. "This is Seem," she announced, "Marauders have attacked us, stolen a very important artifact, and taken it to their stronghold. We would be most grateful if you could drive out there and retrieve it. We'll make it worth your while. I promise." She hung up and closed her eyes as she clutched the communicator in her hands. **_

_** "Who did you just call, Seem?" the other monk asked. **_

_** "The Hero and Short Ears," the head monk reluctantly admitted, even though she knew that there was something special about Jak. Maybe she had been wrong to treat him the way she did. Yes, he had been touched by Dark Eco, but he was now touched by Light Eco as well. He couldn't have been all bad, then. Could he? **_

_** Seem ended up pacing for half an hour before her communicator went off. "We recovered the artifact," Jak reported from his, Paige, and Daxter's end, "And we're heading back to the city." **_

_** "Good," Seem sighed, "Thank you, Hero. Thank you for recovering it." **_

_** "No problem," Paige piped up, "I see you're starting to come around now. What made you change your mind?" **_

_** Seem glanced at the Oracle behind her. She had been thinking a lot about Count Veger's motives while she waited for the news about the artifact, and she had to admit that she regretted giving him all the knowledge that she did. He was starting to sound power hungry, and she worried that he would cause destruction to the world through his actions. **_

_** "I have made some mistakes, too," she replied, "I will leave it at that." **_

* * *

><p>"Well, this has been an interesting day," Dax mused just as the sun finished setting, "I'm gonna go R&amp;R. Good night!" Before Jak and I could say anything else, Dax was already closing the door behind him. Jak and I glanced at each other before I grinned.<p>

"Were you planning on going to sleep anytime soon?" I asked.

"No," Jak told me, "Let's go sit outside for a while."

"Okay."

The air was warm, but comfortable, as we exited the apartment and went to sit on the beach again. The Day Star was still purple, like always, but that didn't matter now.

For the first few minutes, Jak and I just sat in a comfortable silence before Jak broke it. "I can't stop thinking about what Damas told me," he said, "About him losing his son." I just sighed as I remembered that conversation, too.

"What about it?" I asked quietly.

"This is going to sound stupid," Jak replied, "But Damas reminds me of…me. A lot."

I was surprised at this. "He reminds me of you, too," I said, "You're both strong men who don't take crap from anybody." Jak just blushed and looked away.

"I'm serious," I continued, "You've really…you've really grown up." For some reason, I felt tears form in my eyes. I felt like a proud mother, but I also realized that what I said was true. Jak had definitely grown up from the boy I had seen Erol carry into the Fortress three years ago. He had matured, and in turn, had helped me to mature as well.

"So have you," Jak countered, "You couldn't stay in that shell forever."

"No," I agreed, "I couldn't have."

"And I know this is going to sound stupid, too," Jak said, "But every time I'm around Damas, I feel something. Some sort of familiar connection."

I froze for a second. "You, too?" I asked in shock, "Yeah, I've been noticing something between you guys, too! You have the same eyes." I had been trying to keep the eyes to myself, but after Jak mentioned it, I knew I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"And he's been a father figure to me ever since we've been out here," Jak added, facing me and widening his eyes, "Paige…you don't think that Damas…" My heart beat faster.

"No, he couldn't be," the renegade answered before I could.

"We should get some rest if we're going back to Haven City," he continued, getting up from the sand and helping me to stand as well.

"I'm sure Damas will have something in store for us in time," I assured him, "We'll have to wait and see."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next morning…<strong>_

As I got dressed, I couldn't stop thinking about Jak and I's conversation the previous night. What was Jak thinking about?

"Ready to go?" I asked once we were finished eating.

"Yeah," Jak answered, "Anything else we have to do around here first?"

"Doubt it. Lena won't speak to me after yesterday. What could she have caught Veger doing?"

"Don't know," Dax said, "Guess we'll find out."

Once we had taken the transport back to Haven City, we disembarked in the Port as Keira gave us a little background history on the pillars in the forest. I felt my original fascination with the Precursors return in the blink of an eye, now that I had seemingly redeemed myself in their eyes. It was hard to say.

In the forest, there were five Precursor Statues that we had to activate with the jet board in order to raise the five pillars, which we did. Jak flew around on his jet board first while I followed suit, sailing through rings that appeared in our paths not unlike the Leaper Race a few weeks ago.

Once we were finished clearing all five Statues, the pillars were ready to stand on. "Come on!" Jak cried, and all three of us waded in the water as we climbed onto the first platform, which rose up to the next one, and so on and so forth.

"**Approach the Astro-Viewer, time warrior**," the Precursor began, "**Behold... the seed of our destruction.**" Dax and I hung back as Jak walked up to the viewer and peered into it.

"Hmm," Jak hummed.

"What's up, Jak?" I asked.

"What? What?" Daxter whined, trying to climb onto his friend's shoulder, "Let me see! Let me see! Is she hot?" I laughed to myself at his last question.

"**We Precursors built many worlds across the universe. Shaping them with eco into something good... but we were foolish. The Dark Makers were once Precursors, but their exposure to Dark Eco changed them. They began twisting worlds, conquering life and dark ages ensued. Now the dark ones have found your world and are coming to claim it for themselves.**"

"Well, that could ruin your day!" Dax replied.

"I think this one's bigger than all of us," Jak said to us.

"**There is but one hope left. You will find a planetary defense system hidden deep at the core of the planet. There is still a chance to save your world. I hope you are more successful than many planets whose fate has already been closed.**" A chill went down my spine at those words.

"We're strong," I commented, "We can do it."

"Dark Makers, huh?" Dax asked, "Hope we never meet any of them!"

"Me neither," Jak agreed as we began climbing down the pillars once again.

"_Jak, Paige, this is Torn,_" Torn suddenly radioed in to us from his end, "_Come back to the Naughty Ottsel. I have another mission for you._"

"I see Torn still doesn't like to get in on the action," I joked.

"Nope, he's still giving us the crappy missions!" Dax replied.

It took a few minutes, but we were relieved when we made it back to the Naughty Ottsel in one piece. Inside, Torn, Jinx, Eileen, and David were waiting for us. "Welcome back," David greeted with a grin on his face.

"We may have found a way to reach Freedom HQ," Torn announced, "Jinx here has a plan."

"Hey, Jakky boy," Jinx spoke up, smirking, "And sweet cheeks. Long time no see. I think we've got a boomer of a plan here. You know those Blast Bots you've seen around? Well, I captured one. Don't ask. I'll show ya the scars later. I've rigged that baby with a remote control and even more explosives than the standard package."

"Seriously?" I piped up, "Damn, Jinx. You're good." He grinned again.

"Jak, link into the remote and direct that Blast Bot into the KG area," Torn ordered, "If you can get the Blast Bot close enough to the Freedom League border and blow it up, it should punch a hole in the defensive line and allow us to hook up with our comrades." He handed the remote to Jak, and the rest of us crowded around him as he began guiding the Bot down the Port.

"Go, Jak!" Eileen cheered, "You can do it!"

"Yeah, keep going!" I cried next.

So far, Jak seemed to be doing a pretty good job. He cleared the Port and then entered the Industrial Zone. In here, he had to be careful; he took some damage from other Deathbots, but he kept going.

"Almost there," Jinx muttered, puffing on another cigarette.

After a few more minutes, our hacked Deathbot managed to arrive at the white shield Veger had activated, and with a loud boom, the Bot exploded and cleared the way for us. "Yay!" we all cheered as Torn hopped behind the bar and took out a new weapon mod.

"Great job!" Torn complimented, "We can link up with the northern front now. I'll get on the horn to HQ and give 'em the good news! You're the man, Jak! YOU are the man!"

"Yeah, nice work!" Eileen added, patting Jak on the shoulder, "Let's go to Freedom HQ now." With that, we each grabbed some Zoomers and then took off. On the way there, I glanced down at the chaos in the streets and shook my head. Erol and Veger. This was all their doing.

"Oh, you guys," David suddenly spoke up a few minutes later as we arrived outside Freedom HQ, "Eileen and I did a little bit of snooping after Paige's failed attempt to spy on Veger."

"Gee, thanks," I thanked them sarcastically.

"Let me finish," David said, "We figured out how Erol was brought back to life."

"Really?" Jak gasped, "How?"

Before either of them could answer, the elevator doors opened, depositing us into the headquarters. Inside, Ashelin, Samos, Keira, Pecker, and Onin all crowded around the main table in the middle. "Hello, fellow peeps and cronies!" Dax exclaimed, "That's right, the Daxtinator is back in the building!"

"Daxter, Jak, Paige!" Keira cried, clapping her hands, "You did it!"

"We did it!" I cried, going around and hugging everyone in the room.

"It's about time you three got here!" Samos harrumphed, and we all rolled our eyes good naturedly.

"What took you so long?" Pecker demanded.

"A _lot_," I sighed, wiping my forehead.

"Sorry," Jak apologized sarcastically, "We only had a _war _in the way."

Ashelin stepped forward and placed her hands on her hips. "Great work, you two," she complimented, "Let me be the first to officially apologize for the city."

"It's okay, Ashelin," I assured her.

"Forget about it," Jak insisted, "I've got my own interests in this." I patted his shoulder in understanding.

"Well, what we know right now is, there's a huge dark planet builder bearing down on us all," Samos announced, "How much time we have, no one can guess. If it is rogue Precursor technology, then the only way to destroy it is with more Precursor technology, and that lies at the bottom of the catacombs."

"Veger mentioned the catacombs to Seem out in the Temple," I announced, facing Jak, "I guess that's why they're so important to him."

"Also," Keira added, "The large number of Eco Crystals being moved about can mean only one thing... someone is trying to awaken vast Precursor technology." Whoever it was, I hoped they knew what they were doing.

"I think Veger's behind it," Jak suggested, "Or Erol. Or maybe…" He shrugged, trailing off.

"It's a wild card at this point," Eileen said, "It could be anyone."

"I hope we can figure out who it is," Keira said to her.

"Ooh, ooh!" Dax cut in, "Wait till you hear about my adventures in the Wasteland. So there I was, facing a whole brood of slobbering Metal Heads when all of a sudden…" Suddenly, something popped up on the communicator in front of us, and it looked like a horde of Deathbots were trying to attack the HQ.

"Uh oh!" Pecker cried.

"It looks like a large scale assault," Ashelin said, "Multiple targets inbound. You up for some action, Jak?"

Jak smirked. "Look who you're talking to," he responded, "Let's rock-n-roll, Dax!"

"Come on!" David shouted, "We've got to help!" He, Eileen, and I all followed the demolition duo until we were outside once again, where transports full of KG deathbots awaited us.

"_Whoa!_" we all gasped.

"Large scale assault sounds just about right," Jak muttered, whipping out his new Peacemaker, "Let's go."

The first transport shot bombs out at us, and we had to duck before grabbing our weapons and firing. "Jak, I see some over there!" Eileen cried, "David and I will go take care of those!" Jak nodded, and the two of them ran off.

"AHH!" I cried as a bullet barely grazed my arm. I could feel blood leak out from the injury, and I was glad it was just a flesh wound instead of something worse. I quickly dressed it with a Green Eco bandage before moving on.

Jak wasn't doing too bad from where I was standing; he took some damage, but he always managed to use Light Eco to heal himself. Good for him.

At one point, the attack wave seemed to grow, and we continued to pump lead into all the enemies in the area. "How are you guys holding up?" Jak shouted over the chaos.

"Not bad!" I yelled, "They look like they're finally backing off now!"

"Yeah!" Dax agreed, "_I _stopped all of them!"

"_Sure_," David laughed as he reloaded his Vulcan Fury and watched as Jak blew up the last transport.

"Thank Mar that's over," Eileen sighed, "Let's get back inside." I glanced around for a minute before we all climbed back into the elevator and returned to the headquarters.

"We saw you guys on the monitor," Keira said once we were safely back inside.

"Nice moves, my boy," Samos complimented Jak, "You're the best man we've got to lead an expedition into the catacombs."

"Amen to that," I added, "You're the man, Jak." Jak glanced at Ashelin, who just smiled in agreement.

Suddenly, like a recurring nightmare, we all heard a familiar voice. "Please, _please_," it said, "Let us not be too hasty." We all turned to the door to see none other than…

"You've got to be kidding me!" I groaned, "Seriously?"

"Are you sure you want this Dark Eco _Freak _contaminating the hallowed halls of our glorious Precursors?" Count Veger continued, gesturing to Jak as we all glared at him, "_I _should lead the expedition myself."

"And what good will that do us?" David snarled.

"We're tired of your scheming, Veger," Ashelin added.

"We know about what you did to the Palace," Keira chimed in, "And how you kidnapped Paige." _I guess Torn, Eileen, and David spread the word about that, _I thought.

Veger smirked and placed a hand on Ashelin's shoulder, making me wince in disgust. "I've got the answer you're looking for," he announced, "My Precursor Monks have given me the knowledge to turn on the planetary defense grid. If you beg me to do so…"

Narrowing my eyes and folding my arms, I quipped, "All those in favor of Veger leading us into the catacombs?" Nobody raised his or her hand, and the room was so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

"All those in favor of Jak?" I asked instead, and all hands, including my own, went up into the air. Veger looked thunderstruck at the overwhelming results and he shot daggers at me as I smirked at him.

"Jak's always gotten us through thick and thin," Keira said, "I'm with _him_."

"Hear, hear!" Samos chanted, banging his wooden staff on the ground.

"You're washed up, _Vegan_!" Dax cried, rubbing even more salt in the wounds.

"_Veger_!" the Count snapped, "It's _Veger_, you idiot!"

"Whatever!"

"Looks like nobody wants your help, Veger," I said, shrugging as Ashelin pushed past me and approached Veger.

"Count Veger," she declared, "I hereby dissolve the City Council and strip you of your title, command, and all privileges. Now, get out of my sight."

"Ooooo," the rest of us cooed as Veger turned red with fury. This had to be the icing on the cake. He must have been humiliated out of his mind. I didn't feel sorry for him. Not at all.

"_What?_" he boomed, "How _dare _you? I offered you mercy, but now, you will all _burn _in the Precursor fires of creation! I _swear _it!" We all just stared at him as he turned to leave, but not before suddenly whirling around and pointing at me.

"And _you_," he hissed, "You cannot hide your knowledge from me forever! I _will _know what you know! We'll meet again soon!" I just glared at him as he finally about-faced and exited the Freedom HQ for good.

"Yeah, go on, get out of here," Eileen called out after him.

"Just let him go," Jak growled, "He's not worth it."

"That was one hell of an attack wave," Ashelin commented as we all crowded around her again, "We can't continue to repel such large assaults forever! That floating War Factory has got to be shut down. The problem is, the factory is shielded and has gate codes on every access point. Most old KG door ciphers were kept hidden in the main system in the Power Room. If you can break into the system, you may be able to unlock the War Factory doors to get inside." In the corner, Onin, who had her back turned to us the whole time, began to wave her hands.

"Onin says the eco grid in the Power Room could help you," Pecker translated, "But to open the old power room, you must find the junction box in the sewer. Personally, I think you're crazy to go down there. But, ah…good luck."

* * *

><p><strong>I supposed this was what a bruised ego felt like. Normally, I was able to keep my anger under control, but not this time. The fact that those idiots in the Freedom HQ chose to let a Dark Eco Freak lead the expedition into the catacombs made my blood boil. How could they live with that decision? And then there was Paige rubbing it all in my face. She had no right to talk; she helped create that <strong>_**creature.**_** With that, I grabbed the nearest pillow on my couch and threw it at the closest wall. I watched as it slid down to the ground, and I felt remorseful. I should have been saving this anger for someone who deserved it, not an innocent pillow that was more appreciative of my help than those Havenites I worked with. **

** "**_**You look upset,**_**" I heard a metallic voice quip from my visual communicator, and I glanced up as Erol's face appeared on the monitor. **

** "Those fools humiliated me," I told him, "And Paige didn't make it any better. She rubbed it in my face." **

** Erol scoffed. "**_**Join the club,**_**" he said, "**_**I'd give you a shirt, but…you know…**_**" **

** "I know," I assured him as I remembered him once telling me that Paige had rubbed salt in his wounds, too, after the Class One Race. She seemed to be good at that. **

** "Tell me, Erol," I continued, "Have I done anything worth becoming a Precursor over?" There was a certain answer I expected from him, and I was just waiting for him to say what it was. **

** "**_**Well,**_**" Erol replied, "**_**You did save my life when you put all those limbs together for me.**_**" **

** "That's right," I said, "From that little Deathbot program Praxis told me about. And don't you think that saving a life is a good reason to become a deity?" **

** "**_**That's the only reason you did it, wasn't it? It wasn't because you wanted me to live. You just wanted to become a god**_**." **

_**And that's why we're on opposite sides of this conflict, **_**I thought. "Sometimes, these things have to be done," I told him. **

** "**_**I don't believe you!" Erol snapped, "Just wait till I gain more power! Then I'll destroy this world, and you along with it! Goodbye, Veger! And thanks for nothing!" **_**With that, he hung up. **

_**Well, there goes another supporter of mine, **_**I thought, **_**But no matter now. I'll save us all, even if they don't want to be saved.**_


	18. A Dish Best Served Cold

Thanks again to everyone who's been reading this story! I'd say about four or five chapters are left, but that could change. Once this story is finished, I'll be moving on to the last book in the series, based on _Jak X_. Thanks again everyone! Really! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>"I hope that's the last time we have to go in the Sewers," Daxter whined once we managed to find the power junction to open the Power Room.<p>

"I'm sure it is," Jak assured him as we emerged into the Industrial Zone yet again. This time, however, we ended up right by the Power Station from the last war, and suddenly, I felt sad. A few tears pricked at my eyes, but I fisted them away when the others weren't looking.

We climbed up the ramp and entered the Power Station, which was quiet and barren, another reason to make me sad. "Ahh, remember this place?" Dax asked nostalgically, "I sure miss good ol' Vin."

"Me too, Dax," I whispered in agreement, "Me too." A few tears slid down my cheeks, which I also wiped away quickly. In the first war, Vin had been an ally of mine, being one of the few Havenites to take my side on the issue with Kor. Sadly, he had lost his life over it, and I never got to thank him for all his support.

"Yeah," Jak also agreed, patting my shoulder, "He was a good guy. A bit crazy." We all smiled weakly as we remembered how paranoid the scientist had been.

"_Hey!_" a robotic voice we weren't expecting to hear suddenly piped up, "_Who you calling crazy? I can't help it if the world is out to get me!_"

_No way, _I thought, freezing where I was, _That voice sounds familiar! _"Whoa!" I gasped.

"Vin!" Dax cried, "Wait a minute. Is that you?"

"Sounded like it," I replied, feeling a grin spread across my face, as well as more tears prick my eyes.

"_Yeah, it's me,_" Vin replied as his face appeared as a hologram,_ "Well, actually, no it's not. I'm a multi-layered hyper linking digi-memoc-bio-construct-super-clocked-mega-memory-construct, baby!_"

"Did you understand a word he said?" Dax whispered under his breath to us, but we ignored him.

"Vin!" I cried this time, "You're back! You're really back!" This time, I let the dam burst as I cried tears of joy. Maybe he wasn't back in organic form, but he was at least existing.

Vin glanced down at me as I wiped my eyes, and I could make out the hint of a smile. "_D-don't cry, Paige,_" he said gently, "_I'm all right now._"

"But what about Kor?" I asked, "And the Metal Heads? David and I were there! We watched as you…" _Died, _I added as a silent afterthought. I couldn't say that last word out loud.

"_When the city was overrun by Metal Heads, before they got to me, I dumped my brain into the Eco Grid. Everything's great now. Those monsters can't get me in here... or can they?_"

"No, they can't," I assured him, "The Metal Heads aren't smart enough to hack the system."

"Listen, Vin," Jak piped up, "I'm happy you're…whatever you are. But right now, we need to get into the War Factory, but the doors are sealed. We think the code to open the doors is hidden in the system."

"_It is,_" Vin confirmed.

"Really?" Jak asked.

"_Positive._"

"Can you get it for us?" Dax chimed in.

"_Negative._" I was sure my face betrayed my disappointment.

"Why not?" Dax whined.

Vin looked impatient all of a sudden. "_Because if you had half a brain cell,_" he quipped, "_You'd know that those access codes are guarded by the central system. Ancient, nasty, circuits in there. Even we bit brains can't nibble around there without getting our butts erased!_"

"Because we don't want _that _to happen," I said.

"Just get us close," Jak told him.

"_Oh, sure, yeah, no prob_," Vin decided, "_It's your death. If you fail, I can always use a companion in here. Oh, the fun we'll have._" Yep, Vin was definitely back.

"Let's hope…oh God, let's hope, it doesn't come to that," Dax pleaded, making me widen my eyes. So they knew about God, too?

"_When I put you into the system, the main security will slam down hard. It'll be up to you to beat the system and get out or get eco-zapped for good! You check-sum?_"

"Okay, Vin baby!" Dax cried, "Jack me in!"

"_Wait for it... wait for it. Okay! Input!_" With that, Dax was sucked into the system, and we watched as he appeared on a monitor and began hacking through the system. The set up reminded me of Pacman, and I couldn't help but smile to myself. Dax ate all the pellets that were in his way and tried to clear them all as a few bugs entered the system.

"_It's looking bad,_" Vin said ominously. Alive or not, that hadn't changed.

"He's not doing bad so far," Jak responded encouragingly, and I just nodded, unable to take my eyes off the screen. _Come on, Dax, _I thought, _You can do it._

"_No!_" Vin cried as the ottsel came close to being erased, but managed to avoid it at the last minute. We all breathed a sigh of relief.

After a little bit longer, Dax managed to clear all the pellets as he reached the cipher in the middle of the maze. "Got the cipher!" Jak announced into his communicator.

"_Great work, guys,_" Torn complimented,_ "Just got the info beamed here. That cipher key will unlock the War Factory doors. We'll get on it right away and get back to ya._"

"Listen Vin, we've got things to do, but we'll keep in touch," Jak assured him, "We promise."

"_Can't wait to hear from you again!_" Vin replied, smiling, and I knew there was something I had to do before moving on.

"Jak, you and Dax go ahead," I told him, "I need to talk to Vin about something."

"You're coming to the War Factory with us, right?" Jak asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll only be a few minutes."

"All right. We'll wait for you outside." I watched as they left before facing Vin again. As soon as the door closed, I began speaking.

"Vin," I started, "You have no idea how happy I am that you're okay. I never got to thank you for everything you did for me in the first war. So, thank you. For all your support."

"_Paige_," Vin replied, "_It was nothing. I told you I didn't trust Kor. I know I didn't act like I was on your side, but-_"

"It's okay," I interrupted him, "I knew you were. And that was enough for me. Thank you so much." I walked up to the computer Vin's head was floating from and hugged it tightly.

"_You're welcome,_" Vin whispered, "_You're very welcome._" I finished hugging the computer, nodded, and turned to leave.

"Ready to go?" Dax asked.

"Yeah," I answered, reaching closure on Vin at last.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A little while later…<strong>_

"So this is the War Factory, huh?" I asked once we managed to punch through all the defenses.

"Uh huh," Jak confirmed, "Think Erol is somewhere in here?"

"I hope not," I replied, shuddering.

There were KG deathbots everywhere as we pulled out our weapons plowed through them. They all shot at us, but they were no match for us, especially Jak. I glanced down for a second at the world below us as we hopped across some moving platforms, and I gulped. I wasn't afraid of heights, but one misstep would mean the end. I tried not to think about it.

Up ahead, a rotating fan blocked our path, but Dax noticed a pipe right next to us. "I'll handle this!" he chirped as he climbed into it and began trying to find a way to turn the fan off. We waited for a few minutes before Dax gave us the all clear. There were a few more sections like that one where the ottsel had to open up paths for us, and I liked how it seemed that he had more to do this time around than in the first war.

"Shoulder getting lonely?" Dax teased once he was finished with the last section of the factory. I quickly shot another deathbot with my Vulcan Fury before following the demolition duo over to a vehicle in the corner.

"Hold on tight," Jak warned as he climbed into the driver's seat. I paled for a second before the renegade started cracking up.

"_Not funny_!" I hissed, punching him in the shoulder as he continued to laugh.

"You should have seen your face," Jak replied as he slowly cruised through the factory, "You really hate my driving, don't you?"

"I don't _hate _it," I said, "I just don't want us to go over the edge." I gestured to the city down below us.

"Would I do that?" Jak asked innocently, raising his eyebrows, "You've known me for a long time now. I would never get us killed."

That was true; in all his reckless driving, never once had he crashed or gotten any of us hurt. "You're right," I sighed, "I trust you."

Right after that, we crashed into a barricade, which allowed us to continue onward through the factory. Flying deathbots shot at us, but we continued to plow our way through the hallways. I held on tightly as Jak used turbo boosts to clear some gaps in front of us. "See, toots?" Dax piped up, "That wasn't too bad, right?"

"Right," I retorted as we finally arrived at an elevator in front of us and hopped out of the car. Everything fell silent as we glanced up the elevator shaft in anticipation.

"This way," Jak whispered, gesturing with his Morph Gun. I followed him straight until he turned left at the other end of the hallway, which opened up into a large room with four platforms above us and adjacent warp gates to match. The floor below us was made of glass, which looked down into the city. I gulped again as I felt my stomach hurl.

"It's quiet," I whispered, "Too quiet."

Just as I said that, we all froze as we heard a familiar voice from up above. It was tinged with a metallic timbre, but it was still a voice we recognized and knew all too well. "Well, well," it began, "So we finally meet again, face to face."

We all looked up just as a figure moved onto one of the platforms. At first, we couldn't say anything; even Daxter was silent on this one. Above us was none other than Erol himself, in all his "enhanced" glory. "Oh my God," I whispered low enough so that the others wouldn't hear. This was like watching someone who was dead rise up from the grave.

I knew it was rude to stare, but I couldn't help it as I continued to gape at the ex-KG Commander. After remembering the KG Deathbot project and the mechanical limbs Erol had told me about, I had a few possible images of what he might have looked like, but they definitely weren't this. He was almost unrecognizable, except for one side of his face that still appeared to be organic, his voice (despite the slightly robotic sound it now had), and his trademark fiery red hair. Other than that, everything else about him was all robotics, and he even wore the old Krimzon Guard armor, minus the "Commander" lettering that was always on his right shoulder.

"If you stare anymore, Paige, you'll burn a hole right through my armor," Erol teased, winking at me. In that moment, I finally realized I had been staring for much longer than I intended to. I broke my gaze away from him and turned to face the others, wondering how they were reacting to this. Jak and Daxter's mouths were hung open in shock, but they, too, looked away for a second.

"But…how is this possible?" Jak asked, "Who rebuilt you?"

"That idiot Veger," Erol growled.

"_Vulgar_?" Dax spat, "But why?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" the ex-Grand Champion asked nonchalantly, "I've found some new friends to help me conquer this puny little planet."

Jak's eyes widened as he suddenly appeared to have an epiphany. "You're talking to the Dark Makers!" he realized.

"It seems my digital self can communicate with these poor, tortured minds quite well," Erol answered, "Oh, they're just like you and me, Jak. Well…me at least. They want a home, someone to call a friend, destruction of all Light Eco! They've volunteered to help me put this puny planet out of its misery." He laughed, but it was a creepy laugh that sent a chill down my spine. I couldn't think of anything to say in response. The cool, suave, but still menacing KG Commander was gone and in his place was a power hungry lunatic.

"You're in for a big surprise," Jak countered, "The Dark Makers don't play nicely with others. Just ask the Metal Heads." Erol didn't seem fazed by this.

"I've been given the chance to wield a power even the Precursors could not control," he said, "Don't fret. You won't live to see what I turn this little world into. Maybe a rock, or a floating puddle of slag, or nothing at all. Complete oblivion! So hard to choose."

"We won't let you do this!" Jak vowed.

Erol just chuckled as soon as Jak said "we". "That's right," he replied, "You took _my _helper and brainwashed her into leaving the Krimzon Guard!"

"Screw you!" I snapped, "I made my own decision to leave!"

"You're not getting away with this, Erol!" Jak added.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play?" Erol taunted, "Fine. Take _this_!"

"Look out!" Dax cried, and Jak and I ducked as Erol chucked a bomb towards us.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted at him as he continued to try and blow us up with more bombs.

Erol laughed again. "What?" he asked as he sent a wave of KG deathbots after us now, "You didn't think I was actually going to try to kill you this time around? I may have hesitated before, but not anymore! It's time you all _died_!" One of the deathbots punched Jak in the stomach before he righted himself, took out the Blaster Gun, and began shooting at the enemy. I reached for the Vulcan Fury and did the same.

Once the first wave of deathbots was gone, a few more popped out of the gates while Erol stayed put where he was. _Coward, _I thought viciously.

"Here!" Jak shouted, passing me a Green Eco packet after he picked up some ammo from the floor.

"Thanks, Jak!" I thanked him as I reloaded my Vulcan Fury.

In that moment, another rocket-type bot appeared through the gate. "You know," Erol piped up, "I liked you two much more when you hated each other."

I decided to keep Erol distracted while Jak kicked the missile underneath our enemy. "Yeah," I replied, "I bet you did. Those days are over, Erol. You can't influence us anymore. We're through dealing with you!"

"Not if I can help it…wait, _ahh_!"

The missile exploded, delivering some damage to the redhead robot before he fled to another platform. "Nice job, Jak!" I complimented, giving him a high-five.

"Give it up, Eco _Freak_!" Erol snapped, throwing another bomb at us, this time releasing a shock wave.

"You're one to talk!" Jak yelled in response.

"Yeah, who's the Eco Freak _now_?" Dax chimed in. We were pissing him off, but we didn't care.

"Don't call me that!" Erol thundered, launching a bomb that ended up destroying a few pieces of the floor.

"Shit!" I cursed as I found myself dangling over the city as an unharmed piece of the floor became the only thing that was stopping me from dying. Above me, Erol was still hurling bombs at the demolition duo as I worked to hoist myself up and back into the room.

"Toots!" Dax gasped.

"Hold on!" Jak yelled, racing towards me, but getting blocked by another explosive. I glanced down at the sprawling city below and gulped. This must have been as high up as the old Weapons Factory was, if not higher.

"Don't worry!" I shouted to them, "I've got this!"

"Paige, Paige, Paige," Erol sighed, shaking his head, "I never thought I'd see you hanging by a thread…literally. That's where you belong, along with your other traitor friends."

"Shut up, Erol," I hissed as I pulled myself back up with effort and rejoined Jak and Daxter.

"You all right?" Jak asked.

"I'm good," I assured him.

The renegade finished taking out the second army of deathbots before kicking another missile under Erol. I just backed up as we watched him take some damage from it. "Ahh!" he groaned again, "Stop _doing _that!"

"You shouldn't have tried to kill us now or last year," Jak retorted nonchalantly.

"I should have killed you after the race," Erol growled, glaring at Jak and then me, "All of you." _Damn, _I thought, _Erol's just losing his mind, isn't he? _It seemed that he had been waiting to say all these things for a long time, and now that we were here, he was letting us have it.

The third round seemed to go by in a blur as more of the floor disappeared, and we now found ourselves having to tiptoe around all the gaping holes. Erol didn't jump down to fight us once; he just let all his deathbots do the work. It wasn't until Jak kicked another missile right underneath him that he seemed to snap.

"That's it," the redhead snarled, "I really didn't want to do this-well, that's a lie, I did-but…" Suddenly, instead of KG deathbots, a new enemy appeared out of all the gates. They were dark creatures that only growled as Dark Eco crackled from their skin. Some of them shot at us while others hid themselves behind shields.

"The Dark Makers," Jak, Dax, and I all whispered in horror as we began to take them out. Some of the Dark Makers flew in the air as they continued to shoot Dark Eco towards us.

"Get down!" Jak shouted at me, pulling me down to the ground as he took damage from a blast of Dark Eco.

"Jak!" I cried, tossing him a Green Eco packet I had picked up a while ago.

"Better I take damage from Dark Eco than you," Jak told me as he healed himself, "I can just channel it, but you can't."

I was touched; even after everything we had been through in the last war, this was the true mark of our friendship, with him shielding me from Dark Eco and me listening to him as he contemplated our situation. Perhaps now, he had finally forgiven me for everything I did wrong. "Thanks, Jak," I whispered, getting up from the ground to take on more Dark Makers while my friend used the Peacemaker.

Our short moment of bonding didn't sit well with Erol. In another bout of annoyance, he commanded the next batch of Dark Makers to attack, but we quickly took them out with little effort. They were getting easy to defeat once we saw where their weak spots were.

A bunch of missiles popped out of the gate underneath Erol, and I worked to get some of the others away from us as Jak kicked the one closest to him. We watched as it shot up into the air and hit Erol one last time.

"I bet that's gonna hurt in the morning!" Dax mused as Erol massaged one of his arms. Another explosion knocked him off his platform and down to our level at last, even though he was too weak to continue fighting us. After gazing at us for a second, he backed up, turned, and sprinted away, disappearing into a warp gate up ahead.

"Damn!" Jak cursed, "He got away!"

"Good riddance," I growled.

"See ya later, mechanator!" Dax taunted before a piece of the ceiling crashed to the floor, destroying it.

"Jak, the sky's falling!" the ottsel wailed.

"Let's get out of here!" I shouted.

"Erol dropped a Light Eco Crystal!" Jak yelled, "I'll see if I can grab it!" With that, we began to run as the War Factory imploded, and with agility, Jak managed to scoop up the Light Eco crystal before we all jumped into the same warp gate, landing at the base of Freedom HQ.

"Thank Mar that's over," I sighed, "Can you believe Erol, though?"

"Sadly, I can," Jak retorted, "He's so far gone. It was the Dark Eco. Thank the Precursors I…" _Never ended up like that, _was the phrase I knew he wanted to finish the sentence with, but wouldn't. Some things were better left unsaid, even though it was true. No matter how bloodthirsty Dark Jak might have been, Jak still maintained a sense of control over him. He also had family and friends to support him, which Erol _didn't _have. That was the difference between the two of them.

"We took it to that robot goon and kicked his nuts," Dax reported once we were back inside the HQ, "And bolts." I chuckled at this.

"Erol got away," Jak added, "But we shut down his robot factory."

"That's good," Samos said, "But it is troubling to see what Erol is doing. I fear he may be trying to awaken that terrible dark ship before we can destroy it."

"Sounds just about right," I muttered.

From her spot on the floor, Onin began waving her hands. "Onin says the Precursors and Dark Makers have fought over worlds for as long as time has turned," Pecker translated, "It would not be the first time a planet was lost to those monsters."

"Well, it's not going to be this planet," Jak declared as Ashelin handed him another gun mod, "We've lasted this long. We've just got to find a way to destroy that thing. The truth lies at the bottom of the catacombs. That's where we need to go."

"And we will," I said to him, "We'll figure it out."

* * *

><p><em><strong>He had been defeated…again. His pride had been wounded…again. <strong>_

_** Erol didn't think he could take it anymore. **_

_** Everything was converging on him: Jak, Paige, Veger, and Dark Eco, and it was making his head spin. There was only one thing he could do now. **_

_** A while back, Veger had told him about Seem and Paige's alliance in Monk Temple, where they both worked to guard the secrets of the Precursors. Maybe the monks could help him get to the Dark Maker Ship. Maybe Paige could be his little helper again, like she was supposed to be. **_

_** With that thought in mind, Erol silently motioned to the two Dark Makers he had managed to bring along with him when he snuck into Haven City. He hid in the shadows as he watched Jak, Daxter, and Paige enter some apartments. "You know what to do," he said to the Dark Makers, and he grinned to himself as they scampered away.**_


	19. Simple Understandings

All right! Next chapter of "Fight the Power" is here! This is kind of a filler chapter, but a chapter nonetheless! Thanks again for the reviews! I really appreciate it! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>Hard as I tried, I couldn't stifle the yawn that escaped my mouth. "I think I'll take a nap," I decided, stretching my arms over my head.<p>

"Want to crash at our place for now?" Dax offered, "After everything in this adventure, I think it's best we stick together! Don't you agree, big guy?"

"Good idea," Jak agreed as we finally returned to the apartment the trouble twins had been living in between these wars.

"We'll stay up and listen for any updates from the Freedom HQ," the renegade told me.

"Good idea," I said, yawning again, "I'll let you know when I'm finished napping."

"Good night, toots!" Dax chirped, and I chuckled before shutting the bedroom door behind me. Sighing, I kicked my boots off as I collapsed onto the bed and immediately closed my eyes to sleep.

I didn't sleep well at all.

Suddenly, the room felt a little too warm for my liking, and a sweat broke out on my forehead as I began to dream.

_I was running. Where, I didn't know, but I felt like I was running the whole length of my high school's track field. _

_ "Monster!" a voice shouted, and I looked up to see Jak, who didn't look happy with me. _

_ "Jak?" I asked cautiously. _

_ "Stay away from me!" the renegade snapped, "You helped make me like this! You created that…that thing!" _

_ "Jak!" I pleaded as he growled and let Dark Jak take his place. _

_ "Paige," he called out in a low voice, "Thank you for bringing me to life. I needed to exist." _

_ "No," I whispered in horror, "This is wrong. All wrong!" _

_ "You should have thought about that before," another voice interrupted, and I turned around to see none other than… _

"_Erol?" _

_Sure enough, it was Erol, but not the cyborg we had just fought in the War Factory. It was Erol when he was still human, before his…accident. _

"_Look at what happened to me!" he snapped, and that was when his appearance started to change until he looked like he had just plowed through some Dark Eco. _

"_You did this!" he accused, pointing at me, "This is all your fault!" _

_ "No," I croaked, "You couldn't handle losing to Jak." _

"_You rubbed your victory in my face! And now you're going to pay for that!" _

_ "Leave me alone!" I shouted, turning and running the other way…only to come face to face with Count Veger. _

_ "Oh, no, not you!" I groaned. _

_ "It's time for you to reveal your knowledge, Paige," Veger cooed, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look into his eyes, where I thought I saw something orange flash. _

"AHH!" I screamed as I bolted upright in my bed and clutched my chest. There was still sweat on my forehead, and I used the back of my hand to wipe it off. _Mar, give me strength, _I prayed as I buried my face into my hands.

"Paige?" I heard Jak ask faintly from the other side of the door, "You okay in there?"

"I'm fine!" I called back, "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive," I lied, "Don't worry about me." I didn't hear his voice anymore, and I laid back down again…only to realize something was horribly wrong.

Out of nowhere, a pungent smell suddenly filled the air, and I began to gag. I clutched my throat as I began to choke, trying to rid myself of the awful odor. Where was it coming from?

"J-Jak?" I croaked, "D-Dax?" But I was speaking too quietly for them to notice anything was wrong. I now felt like I was going to be sick, but before I could throw up, I caught the sight of two dark beings hovering over me as they showed me their pointed teeth.

_Dark Makers!_ I realized just before I fainted from the overpowering smell.

* * *

><p>When I finally came to later, I realized I was being carried by someone, and that someone looked awfully familiar.<p>

"Put me down, you asshole!" I snapped as I struggled to get myself out.

"Hello to you, too," Erol replied as he unceremoniously threw me into the sand. I looked around briefly as I realized we were back out in the Wasteland.

"I'm not just an object for you to toss around, Erol," I hissed, "Now how did I get out here?"

"I had the Dark Makers sneak in through the window in your room, and they drugged you," Erol explained calmly, "The Eco Freak has no idea you're here."

"He will eventually. Don't you know that by now?"

Erol just rolled his eyes as I smirked. "Come on," he growled, leading me up the hill and into the Monk Temple.

"What?" I gasped, "What are we doing here?"

Erol turned away from me before he faced the army of Dark Makers he had brought with him. "Go get the monk!" he ordered.

"No!" I cried.

Too late. Some of the Dark Makers were already disappearing and then returning, carrying Seem in their hands. "Seem!" I shouted.

"Short Ears?" Seem asked in shock.

"Are you okay?" I whispered to her.

"What is going on?" the head monk inquired.

"Don't be rude, Paige," Erol insisted, patting my shoulder, "Tell her who I am. And how we're very close." I shuddered a little bit. We were not _close._ Never were, and never would be.

"She already knows," I fibbed, facing the monk, "Don't you, Seem?" I could see it in her eyes: a look of recognition, and something else, too. Something familiar.

"The Precursors warned me that this would happen," Seem confessed, to my surprise, "Shortly after you left. This is Erol, isn't it?"

Erol scoffed. "So she does know," he said, "How can I connect with the Dark Maker Ship?"

Seem paled. "The Day Star?" she spluttered, "But that is very dangerous. If you awaken whatever is in it-"

"Tell me!" Erol snapped, cutting her off in mid-sentence, "Or else I'll destroy your Temple."

"I will not tell you anything!" Seem hissed in defiance, glaring at the cyborg with the same hatred she used to direct at me, Jak, and Daxter. _Go, Seem! _I silently cheered to myself.

In retaliation, one of the Dark Makers knocked her to the ground, gravely injuring her. "Seem!" I cried, rushing to kneel down next to her.

"Last time I checked," Erol said, "You two didn't get along, either."

"That's changed now," I told him, turning my back on him to help Seem get up. Even though she was critically injured, she still narrowed her eyes at Erol. The strength was still there, and I had to respect her for it.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Erol suddenly asked out of the blue. I faced him in confusion.

"Keep doing what?" I repeated.

"Fraternizing with all my enemies. It's annoying."

I cocked an eyebrow. _He's jealous, isn't he? _I couldn't help but think to myself. "They're much nicer to me than you ever were," I answered, "I know you brought me out here to help you connect with the Dark Maker Ship, and I'm not going to do it. It's over. It's been over for a while now!"

Erol frowned, a darkness settling into his eyes, and I felt a thrill of fear for a second. "Fine," he finally huffed after a few seconds of remaining silent, "I see how it is. I'll connect with the Dark Maker Ship myself! Say goodbye to your precious Temple!" He raised his hand and commanded the Dark Makers to begin attacking Monk Temple.

"No!" Seem shouted in indignation.

Erol glared at me as I planted my feet firmly in the ground. "Consider our friendship…over," he declared, "Good luck trying to stop me! You and the Eco _Freak _will need it!" And with that, he was gone.

"Erol!" I yelled after him, but he ignored me and continued running. _The friendship's been over for a while, _I couldn't help but think to myself.

"We have to stop him," Seem choked, reaching for her communicator.

"Jak, please help us!" she pleaded, "Erol's attacking the Monk Temple! He wants the secrets we have kept concerning the Dark Makers! Please, hurry! If he finds what he seeks, it could undo this world!"

"I'm here, too, guys!" I shouted into the communicator, "I'm going to try to help Seem!" They didn't say anything, but I knew they heard us.

"The artifact we retrieved from the Oasis," Seem whispered, "We have to protect it."

"Where is it?" I asked her.

"At the top of the Temple," the monk quipped, "We'll need to get up there and avoid the Dark Makers."

"I'll protect you," I promised, gesturing to my Vulcan Fury.

Seem raised an eyebrow. "You would do that for me, Short Ears?" she asked, "After the way I treated you?"

"You're different now," I said, "I can tell. Even when we were guarding the secrets together for a few weeks. You don't even say my name with hostility anymore."

"Thank you…Paige," Seem thanked me, and I realized that was the first time she had ever addressed me by my true name.

"You're welcome, Seem," I responded, and the two of us took off towards the nearest staircase. Along the way, a few Dark Makers appeared out of nowhere, and I raised all my weapons and I fired at them. Occasionally, I checked on Seem to see how she was doing, but she was still fading in and out. With that, I reached out, grabbed one of her hands, and began to pull her along as I shot at more Dark Makers and continued to climb up the Temple.

* * *

><p><em>The Temple was in chaos by the time Dax and I arrived. There were Dark Makers everywhere, and I found myself using the Mass Inverter Ashelin had given me to take them out. I watched as they flew around, and even though they were dead, I kicked them anyway as their bodies flew in the air. <em>

_ "I wonder how Paige got out here," I said to Dax. _

_ "That creep, Erol, probably," Dax suggested, "Since he's so obsessed with her. She sounded fine before, though." _

_ "She never gets hurt when she's kidnapped," I commented, "At least she can protect herself." _

_ "It was all 'cause of you, big guy," Dax quipped, patting my shoulder, "You taught her well." I just smiled as we continued on our way. _

_ After a while, we finally arrived at another Precursor Oracle, where I stepped on the platform and watched it come to life. Another shaft of white light appeared as the Oracle announced, "__**Once again, you stand before me, brave one, and once again, your heroism shall be rewarded. I give you a new light power, one, which will help you reach new places. Places only in your dreams.**__" _

_ Once the light disappeared, I called on the Light Eco inside of me as I changed into Light Jak, but something different happened this time. _

_ "Jak!" Dax cried in awe, and I glanced over my shoulder as I noticed I had wings now. _

_ "Whoa!" I gasped as I realized what the last power was. With that, I kicked up from the ground as I began to glide in the air. _

_ "You can fly!" Dax shouted as I flew higher and higher in the Temple. I loved the feeling of flying; it was liberating to me. I took a deep breath as I glanced down below me, and I grinned as Daxter gulped. _

_ "Are we gonna go even higher?" he asked. _

_ I just nodded as I spread my wings and glided. The wind rushed past me as I continued my flight up to the top of the Temple. Pretty soon, we saw a clearing, and Paige and Seem as well. I could see the look on Paige's face as I slowly lowered myself to their level. _

_ "Jak?" she asked, her eyes widening in fascination, "You can fly now?" _

_ I nodded again as I flashed her a bright smile. She grinned as well as she shielded her eyes a little bit. Her expression then turned serious again as I changed back into my normal self. Seem looked distraught as well. _

_ "Erol has learned how to connect with the dark maker ship," she reported in a hoarse voice, "If he can awaken its terrible cargo, he will unleash horrors beyond our deepest nightmares. Not all is lost. I hid the most important artifact from Erol. I was wrong about you. You have the balance needed to save us all." She handed us the artifact. _

_ "The Time Map?" I asked, shocked. There was another one besides the one from the Rift Rider? _

_ "As rubber wearing, completely freaky, beyond bizarre, paint faced, super weird monks go, you're all right," Dax said to her, and she closed her eyes and nodded. _

_ "I have now seen the truth, and I am at peace. At least I was granted the gift of seeing the face of my creators... thank you, little one." She reached out and stroked Daxter's chin affectionately, and he, Paige, and I all glanced at her with our eyebrows raised. _

_ "Ahh…okay…" Dax whispered. _

_ "Go now," Seem ordered, "And be careful with that artifact. You'll need it for your quest." _

_ "Thank you, Seem," Paige thanked her, "We'll take care of it." Seem turned her back to us to pray, and we jumped through the warp gate back to the entrance of the Temple. _

_ "You okay?" I asked Paige once we were on our way. She nodded, even though she looked a little rattled. _

_ "I'm fine," she assured me, "It was just Erol being Erol, that's all." But she sighed and buried her face into her hands. _

_ "Why can't he just leave me alone?" she groaned. _

_ I didn't know what to say to that, so I just patted her shoulder before taking off in the Dune Hopper. Along the way, Damas called us, explaining that the Dark Makers had reached Spargus and that he needed us to take them out. _

_ "We can try," I conceded as I put my foot to the gas pedal. _

* * *

><p>By the time we got back to Spargus, we noticed that it was in chaos. Like the Temple, there were Dark Makers everywhere, and we had to dodge them as we reached the gun turret. "I'll see if I can hold them off here!" I decided, "You just get to the turret!"<p>

"Good luck!" Jak cried, and I saluted him as he climbed up the ladder and took his seat behind the large guns. The sight of Dark Makers running around Spargus eerily reminded me of Haven City during the war last year, after Krew had let the Metal Heads into the city.

While Jak began shooting at the Dark Makers in the water, I teamed up with a few nearby Wastelanders as they took out their weapons and began fighting the enemies close to us. The whole time, I wondered if Erol was in Spargus at this very moment, and if he was, would he come looking for us?

_I don't know, _I thought, _He sounded pretty final when he was yelling at me in the Temple. _I sighed.

In the distance, I spotted Lena kicking some Dark Makers out of the way, and once she was finished with that, she glanced at me before reloading her pistol and turning the other way. So she still wasn't speaking to me, huh?

"Watch out!" a voice cried to me, and I quickly dodged out of the way as Damas and Kleiver came charging in, weapons drawn in front of them. They shot at one of the Dark Maker ships that Jak was now pointing the gun turret at. I switched to the Blaster Gun as another Dark Maker tried to sneak up on me, and it was gone in an instant.

"Good fighting, Paige," Damas complimented as Kleiver just nodded in silence.

"Thank you, Damas," I thanked him modestly as I bowed a little bit. He smiled a little bit as all three of us continued to fight side by side. Up by the turret, Jak finished taking out the rest of the Dark Makers as we all went to meet up with him and Daxter. Damas sighed proudly as he watched Jak climb down the ladder.

"You know," Damas suddenly piped up, "It's the strangest thing, but something about Jak feels…familiar. Every time I talk to him, it's like how I would have been talking to my son."

I was shocked at this confession. "Really?" I asked.

"Yes. He said that he never knew his father, right?"

"He did," I confirmed.

Damas narrowed his eyes in thought. "I wonder…" he muttered to himself, but trailed off as soon as Jak and Daxter stopped in front of us. I moved to stand next to them.

"You did it, Jak!" Damas complimented, "This victory is a sign of possibility. Times are grim. But when I was the leader of Haven City, times seemed grim then too. Take hope. Even the smallest weed finds shelter within the rocks."

Jak, Dax, and I all gasped. "Wait!" Jak cried, "_You _were once the leader of Haven City?" Who would have thought?

"I came to the throne during the middle of the Metal Head wars," Damas explained, "Baron Praxis betrayed me and banished me to the Wasteland. The rest you know..." He then reached for one of the two battle amulets he was carrying.

"Anyway, here is your third and final Battle Amulet," he continued, "You are one of us now. That War Amulet is a beacon. If ever you need us, use it to call and we will be there. And from me, a... welcoming gift." He held up some more Precursor armor.

"This rare Precursor armor is said to have been worn by Mar himself. I was saving it for my own son... but right now, you should wear it in this difficult time." He handed it to Jak, and we all realized it was chest armor. Jak widened his eyes before slipping it on.

"Congratulations, Jak!" I said excitedly, patting him on the shoulder. I wasn't sure if it was just me, but the moment Damas passed the armor down to Jak seemed to carry a far more special meaning than it already did, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Thanks," Jak thanked Damas, "But I don't have anything for you."

"You give us all hope, Jak. That is gift enough. Welcome to the clan." We all saluted Jak, who basked in his victory.

After that, Damas faced me. "I have something for you, too, Paige," he announced after he handed me the other battle amulet. Kleiver stepped forward and whipped out a very familiar looking gun mod.

"Wow!" I gasped once I realized it was a Peacemaker.

"When you first arrived in Spargus," Damas began, "I wasn't sure if you'd be able to handle all the responsibilities you were given, but I was wrong. You kept your head held high in the darkest of times, and you worked out your differences with my monks. And for that, I award you this Peacemaker."

I bowed. "Thank you, Damas," I thanked him gratefully as I took the Peacemaker mod in my hand.

"Yes," Jak piped up, "Thank you for everything."


	20. Hope

Here we go! Three chapters left after this! Thanks again for the reviews! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>"Can you believe what Damas gave us?" Dax asked in amazement as we settled down in our apartment shortly after we were finished driving out the rest of the Dark Makers.<p>

"I can," Jak replied, "I'm glad he finally trusts us. Now, we're true Wastelanders." He glanced at me as I winked at him. "All of us."

"He said you felt familiar to him, too," I told the renegade, "Every time he talks to you, it's like he's talking to his own son."

"Really?" Jak asked in surprise.

I nodded.

"So I wasn't the only one picking up vibes," he whispered to himself.

I yawned as I stretched my arms over my head. "I wonder what'll happen from here," I wondered.

"We'll find out," Jak said, "Samos wants us to check out the Astro-Viewer in Haven Forest when we go back, since Erol turned on the Dark Maker Ship's shields."

"Did he just call now about that?" I asked. The two boys nodded.

We all settled down in the living room as Dax spoke up this time. "So Seem saw the Precursors, huh?" he quipped, "Did you see them, too, toots?"

"Me?" I echoed, shaking my head, "No, I didn't. She sent me away before I could get a glimpse at them. On the way up to the top of the Temple, we stopped by a room with another Oracle, and that's where they appeared to her. She wanted some alone time to talk about everything."

"I wonder why she thanked you, though," Jak said, nodding at the ottsel.

"Yeah," Dax agreed, "Me too."

"Well, we know one thing for sure now," I piped up, "Erol has to be stopped." I sighed, and I realized there was something I needed to put to rest with Jak once and for all.

"Jak," I continued, "Remember all those weeks ago, when we sat on the beach and you thought I was feeling guilty because of what happened to Erol?"

"Yeah," Jak replied.

"I wasn't," I assured him, "I thought I did, though, especially right after he had his accident. I never told you this, but right after the race ended…I said something to Erol that I thought might have finally made him snap. I thought I was the reason he had driven into that Dark Eco, and I never wanted to be the reason anybody got killed." Jak and Daxter just glanced at each other.

"Paige," Jak tried to cut in, but I held a hand up and interrupted him.

"Let me finish," I said, "But then I thought about what you guys said when we were fleeing to Praxis Palace, and I realized you were right: what happened wasn't our fault. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him like that, but I honestly had no idea he was going to try and kill you."

"Paige," Jak repeated a little more insistently. I finally looked up at him as he stared at me.

"I know," was all he said once he had my full attention.

I widened my eyes. "You know?" I echoed.

"I know this is probably way too late," Jak began, shaking his head, "But I'm sorry I thought you were feeling guilty over Erol. It's just that you're so hard to read sometimes, and I just wasn't sure."

"Really?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow, "I'm hard to read? I thought I was the most open book in the world!"

"Not to me, you aren't. When we first met, I was trying to figure you out. You were really secretive. But then you know the rest."

I laughed in spite of myself. "I was that bad, huh?" I joked.

"You've gotten better." Jak smiled slightly, and I chuckled again.

"Well, in that case, I forgive you," I told him, "Just like you forgave me."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next morning…<strong>_

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to be the last time we get to sleep for a while?" Dax asked after we locked up the apartment and began heading back to the transport that would take us to Haven City.

"Is it another tingling feeling in your tail?" I joked.

"Or nasty Juju vibes?" Jak added, grinning from ear to ear.

"Very funny," Dax replied, rolling his eyes as Jak and I shared a laugh.

Once we were back in Haven City, we trekked over to Haven Forest, where we found an army of Dark Makers taking over. "Erol," we all growled to each other.

While Jak worked on using the turret guns in the area to take out a few Dark Maker pods on the walls, I whipped out my new Peacemaker in order to use it. I was excited; I never got to use a Peacemaker in the last war, and it looked like a pretty cool weapon. I let it charge for a few seconds before firing it at two Dark Makers closest to me. I watched in awe as the charge wiped both of them out in a single shot. "Whoa," I gasped before raising it again and pointing it at a few more enemies.

"You like that Peacemaker, don't ya?" Dax teased as he caught the goofy grin on my face.

"It's a cool weapon," I said, blushing a little bit.

"Just like Tess," the ottsel whispered, and I smiled as I caught up with my friends. We watched as Jak finished destroying the last pod, and he motioned to us.

"It's all clear!" he announced, "Come on!" We ran until we were climbing up to the Astro-Viewer. I stood back as Jak approached it again. He placed the Time Map into the Astro Viewer, and we watched as it came to life.

"_Wonderful, Jak!_" Samos complimented, "_I knew that machine was special!_"

We all grinned, but then Jak widened his eyes in horror as he jerked his head back. "AHH!" he gasped, "Get out of my head!"

"Jak!" I shouted in surprise.

"Jak?" Dax asked cautiously, "_Jak? _I'm losing ya, buddy!"

"It's linking me into the Dark Maker ship systems," Jak groaned, "They're taking me to them."

"Jak!" Dax shouted frantically, "_Jak!_" From there, the renegade looked like he was in a trance, and a few seconds later, he spoke.

"I'm inside the Dark Maker Ship," he reported to us, "I can control one of the machines." He then slipped back into his trance. For the first time ever, Daxter had a look of pure fear on his face.

"It'll be okay, Dax," I whispered to him as I scratched him behind his ears, "Jak will be fine."

"I hope you're right," the ottsel said, and we fell silent as we waited for Jak to come back.

It seemed to take forever before our friend was finished with whatever he was doing in the Dark Maker ship. He suddenly jerked his head back as he nearly fell off the platform we were on. "What the…" he mumbled, "Daxter?"

"What?" Dax whined, "What? What'd you see? Let me look... let me look... let me look. Hello, elevator, bottom floor, goin' up. Come on! Aagh! I hate being short." I tried to peer through the Astro-Viewer, but I didn't see anything.

"You all right, Jak?" I asked worriedly.

Jak shook his head. "It just seemed for a moment... it looked like... Nah, it couldn't have been," he said, which confused the hell out of us.

"What?" I pressed as we quickly exited the forest, "What'd you see?"

"I didn't get a good look," he answered, and Dax and I just shrugged.

By the time we got back to the Freedom HQ, we found everyone waiting for us. "Who knows what Erol will try to do next with that dark ship?" Ashelin began, "We've got to take him out!"

"And I suppose you know how we can take him?" Jak asked.

"Definitely," David assured him from next to Eileen, "We thought about it while you three were gone."

"We have a plan," Ashelin announced, "But it's risky." We remained silent while the others filled us in.

"Oh, of course," Dax replied sarcastically, "It couldn't be easy. Nooo! And I'm sure we're on the shortlist to head up the mission, huh?"

"This one's tricky," Ashelin said, "I'm giving it to Torn and Jinx."

_If only I had a camera right now, _I thought as I watched Daxter's mouth hang open in shock. "_What?_" he gasped, "I suppose you don't think we're good enough, huh? You don't think we can do it?"

"Dax…" Jak groaned, face-palming himself.

"Let her finish," Eileen piped up, but the ottsel wouldn't listen to any of us.

"May I remind you, that this team of Daxter, Jak and Daxter have taken just about every scary thing this world can throw at us for three... count them, three adventures!" Dax reminded all of us, "And Paige tagged along for the last two! Does she get no justice?"

"Daxter," both Jak and I sighed. He didn't know when to quit, did he?

"This is an outrage, Jak! We're the heroes! We're the ones on cereal boxes for God's sake. And I'm about to release my own line of sports shoes! I've got a contract."

"Daxter!" Ashelin, Eileen, David, Jak, and I all shouted at the same time.

"You're _on the mission,_" Ashelin finally told us, "Your job is to cover Torn and Jinx in a vehicle filled with explosives. Escort them to the Metal Head section, and together you'll blow open the nest."

"Oh!" Daxter gasped, "Well, why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"Because you kept interrupting her?" Eileen joked. Dax just shrugged.

"So who else is going on the mission?" Jak asked.

"Torn, Jinx, Sig, and you two," Ashelin answered, facing me, "Are you going with them, Paige?"

"Nah, I think I'll sit this one out," I decided.

"You sure?" Jak asked.

"Positive," I said, "Good luck!"

* * *

><p><em>This mission proved to be tough. <em>

_ There were Metal Heads and KG deathbots everywhere that were trying to shoot at Torn, who for some reason decided to go alone in his transport. Jinx drove while I operated the guns and Sig gave his moral support. It also seemed like Torn was taking the long way around; I would never understand that, either. _

_ "Almost there!" Sig yelled over the wind once we arrived in the Metal Head section. By now, the damage on Torn's vehicle was starting to show, and I hoped we would get there soon. _

_ Right when we got to the barrier, Torn jumped off the transport and let it crash into the wall, clearing the path for us. "Hooray!" we all cheered. _

_ "Oh yeah, they're hurtin' now," Sig said, "Move and groove, chili pepper." He handed me another gun mod, which he called the Super Nova. _

_ "All right, it's payback time!" I declared, "You ready to rock, Dax?" _

_ "You mean go in that place?" Dax asked, gulping, "Ah, Jak, maybe I'll stay here and... protect Sig." Sig and I just scoffed. _

_ "Come on!" I said, and we both entered the Metal Head Tower. Once this was down, it would hopefully be the end of the Metal Heads for good. _

_ There were even more Dark Makers than before, and I decided to test out the new Super Nova gun mod. "Whoa!" Daxter gasped once it exploded and killed all the Dark Makers in the area. _

_ "I like this one," I decided with a grin on my face as we moved on. I wasn't sure what we would find at the top of this tower, but we would still try anyway. _

_ Once we were finished in a particular area, either a bridge or a platform would conveniently be there to help us keep going on. The whole time, I couldn't stop thinking about what Paige had said about Damas. What was it about him that was giving me that feeling like we were connected? _

_ "Jak!" Dax suddenly shouted, and I returned to the situation at hand. Dark Makers surrounded us again, and I took out the Blaster Gun this time, switching to the Beam Reflexor to take them all out. There were some points where I had to spread my wings and fly, and I loved every minute of the experience. _

_ By the time we got to the top of the tower, we took the elevator up to an open room, where we spotted Erol standing in front of a huge gate not unlike the Rift Ring back in the Metal Head Nest. "There he is," I whispered to Daxter. _

_ As if he knew we were standing behind him, Erol turned around and smirked. "Ahh, my little friends have come to see me off!" he began as he moved to lean in close to our faces, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have an appointment with the most powerful beings in the universe!" _

_ "You're through, Metal Monkey!" Dax replied as Erol about-faced and marched away from us, "Don't make me come over there and sic Jak on you!" _

_ "You're too late!" Erol cried triumphantly, "I've already awakened the dark maker ship! When I come back, I will be wielding the very power of the Precursors! I'll see you boys, soon!" He turned to leave, but then thought better of it and faced us again. _

_ "Oh, and another thing," he said, "Tell Paige that she's going to be sorry for what she did!" Before I could answer, he jumped through the portal, leaving behind an unstable Dark Eco Crystal. I picked it up and studied it as Daxter widened his eyes. _

_ "Look at that," he said, "It's cool, it's amazing, it's reacting to the dark stuff... Aagh! It's gonna blow!" _

_ "Damn it, Erol!" I hissed as I quickly let go of the crystal. _

_ Suddenly, we watched as Sig appeared in the vehicle we had driven before. "Sig!" Dax shouted. _

_ "Let's get out of here!" Sig yelled, and we quickly jumped in and flew away just as the tower exploded. _

* * *

><p>"Do you think they made it out okay?" I asked Eileen and David while we waited for everyone to get back.<p>

"Don't worry," David assured me, "You know Jak and Daxter. They make it out of everything."

"I wonder what Veger's up to," I mused.

"No clue," Eileen answered, "Ever since Ashelin humiliated him in front of the rest of us, he's shut himself up in his apartment. Maybe he'll finally leave us alone at last."

"Or maybe he's planning some sort of revenge," I suggested.

"We'll have to wait and see," David sighed.

"You knew Veger rebuilt Erol, didn't you?" I asked the former Krimzon Guard, "That's what you were trying to tell us a few days ago?"

David nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed, "He thought he could become a Precursor if he made himself look like a savior."

I shook my head and exhaled. "That is so Veger," I quipped, "He better not pull a fast one on us."

Eileen and David just shrugged, and I heard my communicator go off. "_Paige, it's Jak_," Jak reported, "_Samos and Onin want us to meet them at Onin's tent. She's moved it to the middle of the Slums._"

"I wonder how she managed that," I commented, "Okay, let's meet up there. I'll see you in a few." I hung up, quickly hugged Eileen and David, and then made my way over to the Slums.

The streets were still chaotic by the time I got to the Slums, with Metal Heads and deathbots running around. "Paige!" I heard Jak and Daxter cry over the din.

I looked up and spotted them outside Onin's tent. "There you guys are!" I said, running over to them, "How did it go?"

"We got there in one piece," Dax explained, "And then we ran into Erol."

"_What?_" I gasped, "Erol was there?"

"Up in the tower," Jak added, "He's gone to the Dark Maker Ship. And he said you were going to be sorry for what you did."

I just sighed and shook my head. "He never learns, does he?" I mumbled as we ducked our heads and entered the tent.

"Jak, Paige, we're in serious trouble," Samos began gravely.

"Onin says there are strange forces at work," Pecker faithfully translated for the Soothsayer, "Fate has been twisted by something more powerful than anything she has ever seen in her many years. _Arrk_! Something now awake deep in the catacombs."

"Let me guess," Daxter interrupted, "You blowhards wants us to go down there. Correct?"

"The best access to the catacombs is on the Metal Head side of the city."

"Sometimes…I really hate you guys."

"Can't help it if you guys are the best men we've got," I commented breezily as Onin waved her hands again and conjured up blue smoke.

"Onin says, she sees your fate turning black with uncertainty," Pecker interpreted, "Onin says, it will be very dangerous indeed. Onin says, Pecker will escort you through the catacombs and... _Arrk_! What? What did you say?"

"You will be Onin's eyes," Samos said, "And Jak's wisdom. You must do this."

Pecker sighed. "Aaaaaaahh! Okay, fine! But I am _gone_ the moment that things get sticky! You three, get to the catacomb entrance and take care of business. _Arrk_! I'll meet you there when the coast is clear!" With that, he flapped his wings and flew out of the tent.

"That went well," I said, breaking the short silence.

"That it did," Jak replied, "Come on, let's go." He led us out of the tent and over to another Zoomer, where we all climbed on and headed for the demolished Stadium section.

When we got to a ramp right in the middle, we both took out our jet boards and rode them into the Stadium itself, where we looked around in shock. "Whoa!" we all gasped.

"I don't even recognize it anymore," I whispered, remembering the races Jak had won here. Where he had defeated Erol at his own game. I sighed and shook my head.

We moved forward a little bit to see thick walls blocking some part of the ruins. "The only hombres crazy enough to take on these things are the Wastelanders!" Dax commented.

Jak suddenly looked like he had an epiphany. "You're a genius!" he exclaimed as he took out his third battle amulet. I did the same.

"Let's call the Wastelanders," he suggested, and he pressed a button in the middle of his amulet. I followed suit, and we just watched as the beacons flashed red, but nothing else happened.

"Maybe they're broken," I said as Jak frowned and began to shake his.

"Yeah, that trinket's worth about as much as you'd get from a broke down pawn shop in South Town," Dax mused, "Let's go."

Pulling out our weapons, we proceeded to plow through the Stadium ruins, taking out the Metal Heads that populated the area. I made good use of my Vulcan Fury and my new Peacemaker the whole time as Jak ran around and collected skull gems. He then turned to his Beam Reflexor for the rest of the time.

At one point, we came across a crumbling wall, where a convenient Dark Eco vent was situated off to the side. After Jak refilled on the dark substance, I stepped back as Dark Jak appeared and conjured up a beam of Dark Eco, which he called the Dark Strike. He hurled the energy at the wall and obliterated it. "Whoa," I whispered just as Jak returned.

"Come on!" he shouted, and I lifted my Peacemaker as I scrambled after him. The rest of the ruins were pretty much the same way, except at one point, we encountered a rather large gap in the ground, and a Light Eco vent off to the side.

Jak refilled on Light Eco, too, before facing me. "Paige," he began, "How do you feel about flying?"

"I'm not afraid, if that's what you're asking," I retorted, "Why?"

"Just hold on and don't look down." Before I could reply, he transformed into Light Jak, spreading his wings, grabbing me by the waist, and lifting off into the air.

"Whoa!" I gasped again, looking down briefly before glancing ahead of me. I glanced up at Light Jak as he flashed me another brilliant smile before landing on the other side. He clutched his head as he changed back into his normal self.

"That was amazing!" I cried, "But I don't weigh you down when you're flying like that?"

"I've carried you before," Jak replied as we continued to run along, "You're not that heavy."

_Not to mention the muscles in your arms, _I thought to myself, blushing a little bit when he wasn't looking. Not that I had a crush on Jak or anything. I just happened to notice how strong he looked. You would never be able to tell he used to be a prisoner.

We battled more Metal Heads as Jak used the Dark Strike to clear a path for us and his Light Wings to get us across wide gaps. I was starting to feel a little tired, but there was no place to nap. Once we were finished using our jet boards to get across other chasms, we hit a dead end: a giant wall in front of us. Pecker was there as well, and I envied him a little bit for being able to just fly straight here.

"Where have you been?" he shrieked, "I've molted three times already just waiting for you! Onin says we must get through the palace ruins, but I think... uh oh..."

We suddenly heard growling behind us, and we all turned around to see some Dark Makers hovering in front of us. "Uh oh is right," I mumbled. How were we going to get around this?

Dax gulped, and Jak and I huddled closer together. "Jak," the ottsel stammered, "Let me just say, before it's all over, riding on your shoulder, although it is kinda boney and uncomfortable, well, you've been a good pal."

"You too, Dax," Jak replied, "These adventures... they've been great."

"No matter what happens from here," I added, "I'm really glad I met you guys. Thank you for everything."

"It's been great, toots," Dax commented to me.

"I know we've had our ups and downs, Paige," Jak also piped up, "But I wouldn't have changed a thing."

"Except my part in the DWP," I cut in, chuckling sadly.

"Except for that," Jak echoed, "It's been good." We all closed our eyes, just waiting for the Dark Makers to finish us off…but it never happened.

A loud explosion shook the ground around us, and a rumbling noise increased in volume. "Get out of the way!" Jak shouted, grabbing me in time just as the wall behind us broke into a million pieces. The Dark Makers in front of us succumbed to a few stray bullets in the air, and the rumbling we had heard sounded an awful lot like cars.

"Someone call for an army?" a familiar voice asked, and we glanced up and gasped in happiness.

"Damas!" we all cried in surprise as Damas smiled at us from the Slam Dozer.

"And me!" another voice piped up, and I peeked around the corner.

"_Lena_!" I shouted as Lena pulled up next to Damas in the Gila Stomper.

"That's right!" Lena cheered triumphantly, "We're here!"

"You're back! You're really back in Haven!" I commented, "I guess those beacons worked after all."

"You're a long way from the desert," Jak said to Damas, smirking, "I thought you said a smart warrior never takes his opponents head on."

"It depends on how hard your skull is," Damas told him, "I'd say you and I are both rather headstrong."

"Come on!" Lena shouted, "We'll get you through the ruins!" She took my hand and helped me into the passenger seat of the Gila Stomper while Jak and Daxter climbed into the Slam Dozer.

"Let's finish this!" Jak declared.


	21. Unexpected Findings

Thank you to everyone once again for reviewing, reading, alerting, and overall supporting this story as it comes to a close! Just two more chapters to go! This, by far, was one of my favorite chapters to write for the whole story. I had a lot of fun with it, and I hope you enjoy it as well! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p><em>"Look alive, Jak!" Damas shouted as we began driving through the Palace ruins. Lena and Paige followed closely behind us in the Gila Stomper. <em>

_ "Dark Precursors!" the King of Spargus yelled just as a horde of Dark Makers appeared in our path. I quickly hopped on the guns and began taking them out as Paige operated the guns on the Gila Stomper. _

_ "You guys okay back there?" I cried. _

_ Paige just smiled and gave us the thumbs-up. "We'll cover you!" Lena exclaimed, "Just get us through these walls!" _

_ "What made you decide to come back to Haven?" I barely heard Paige ask over the noise. _

_ "I decided…I couldn't let Veger win anymore!" was all Lena replied with, for suddenly, we spotted a target on the ground where we were driving. _

_ "Move, move!" Paige screamed, and we all quickly veered to the left as a bomb came very close to striking the side of the Slam Dozer. _

_ "Damn, that was close," I muttered. _

_ "You're doing well, Jak," Damas complimented, "Keep going. I'll accelerate to bring down these bridges." I nodded and continued to shoot while Damas used a turbo boost in order to knock down the bridge in front of us, as well as destroy any barriers that were in our way. _

_ "Don't worry about us!" Paige shouted, "We'll make sure nothing happens to us!" She went back to shooting the Gila Stomper's guns as she said this. _

_ For the next half hour or so, we plowed through the Palace ruins, with Dark Makers converging on us everywhere. As they promised, Lena and Paige helped to cover for us while we drove around and destroyed everything in our path. All we could hear was the sound of gunfire, and it was amazing that we didn't go deaf after both wars. _

_ "Almost there," Damas muttered once we came to a part of the ruins that was open. There were bridges everywhere, and we would have to find alternate paths if we wanted any chance of breaking through the barrier up ahead. Lena parked the Gila Stomper and took out her Eco Pistol while Paige remained on the vehicle's guns. It was clear they were waiting for us to clear this part before we could move on. _

_ Along the way, I glanced over at the King of Spargus as I thought about what Paige had told me about him the previous night. "Damas?" I asked. _

_ "Yes, Jak?" Damas replied as we found ourselves driving up a small hill. _

_ "I was thinking," I said, wondering how I was going to phrase this without appearing too intrusive, "There seems to be some kind of…connection between us." _

_ "Yes," Damas repeated, "I have noticed it, too." _

_ "What do you think of it?" I pressed, curious as to how he would respond. _

_ "It's a most curious connection," Damas answered, "But I cannot say for sure." _

_ "Do I remind you of somebody?" I asked, thinking about Paige's words. I knew this was probably a touchy subject for Damas, but I had to know. I watched as the King of Spargus finished clearing all the bridges before he slammed into the gate in front of us, clearing it out of our way. Lena and Paige got the hint and began to follow us as fast as they could. _

_ "Jak," Damas retorted, "You…are one of my finest warriors. A very curious warrior, but a warrior nonetheless. Once this is over…" He never got to finish his sentence, for suddenly, we heard Paige and Lena scream from behind us. _

_ "Look out!" they both warned, and Damas, Dax, and I glanced up in time to see another bomb sailing right towards us. We tried to swerve to the side, but we didn't make it in time. _

_ With a loud bang, the bomb crashed right into the Slam Dozer. "W-whoa!" Dax gasped as the vehicle turned on its side and kicked up a lot of dust in the process. I felt myself fly out of the car and tumble onto my side. _

_ "Jak! Daxter!" the girls cried from behind us, "Damas!" I could hear the sound of brakes, and I knew Lena was quickly stopping the Gila Stomper before it crashed into us. _

_ "I found them!" Lena shouted, "Jak and Daxter are over here!" _

_ I groaned as I rolled onto my side in time to see the two of them bolting towards me. "Are you okay?" Paige asked worriedly, quickly checking me over to make sure I didn't break anything. _

_ "I-I'm fine," I choked, coughing as I got to my feet. _

_ "Where's Damas?" Daxter asked, looking around in the clearing dust. Another cough grabbed our attention, and we all glanced over to where the Slam Dozer was laying on its side. And pinned right underneath it was Damas. _

_ "Damas!" I yelled, pushing past the others to run over to him. Paige, Lena, and Dax followed suit, and we all knelt down next to the former king of Haven City. All around us, the sky went dark as it began to rain. _

_ "Damas!" I cried again, "Are you okay?" _

_ Damas coughed again and opened his eyes as he smiled weakly. "Not bad, kid," he complimented, "It was a good fight, and a good day to die. I'm very proud to have been by your side in the end. The world is not yet out of heroes." He coughed again and a little bit of blood began to spread across his chest. _

_ "We did well together," I replied, "Don't move. I'll…" _

_ But Damas stopped me. "Please promise me one thing," he croaked, "Promise me you'll find my son, Mar. You'll know him when you see this." He held up a very familiar looking pink amulet, the same one the Kid-well, the younger version of me-had worn back in Haven City! Paige, Lena, and Dax gasped from behind me, and I could tell we were all making the same connection at the same time. _

_ "He's wearing an amulet just like it," Damas whispered, "A symbol of our lineage with the great House of Mar. Save the people, Jak. They need you." And with that, Damas closed his eyes for the last time and entered a permanent sleep._

No, _I thought, _No, NO! _"Damas!" I cried, shaking his shoulder, "Damas!" _

_ "No…" Paige sobbed from behind me. She and Lena moved to crouch down next to me, and Paige wrapped her arms around me while Lena patted my hand. Dax crawled up on my shoulder. _

_ It was then that I found myself uttering the connection between me and Damas. Something I had suspected, but didn't think could be true. Until that very moment. _

_ "Father," I whispered, clutching the amulet in my hand and feeling tears prick my eyes. The father I had never known. And would never know. _

_ "Jak," Dax whispered in a solemn voice I had never heard from him before, "I'm so sorry." Paige hugged me even tighter as she began to cry as well. I just hugged her back as Dax patted my shoulder and Lena sighed sadly. _

_ "If you need anything, just let us know," Paige whispered, "I'm so sorry, too, Jak." _

_ "Yeah, we've got your back," Lena assured me. _

_ Had Damas suspected I was his son, too? Was that what he meant when he had said that to Paige? I glanced up for a minute as I watched Lena shrug off her jacket and place it over Damas' body. I just took her and Paige's hands in mine and squeezed them while Dax kept murmuring that it would be okay. _

_ "Yes," a familiar voice spoke up, breaking the silence, and we all glanced up as Count Veger emerged through the dust. _

_ "You were that child," he explained, "I took you from Damas, hoping to harness your eco powers for my experiments. Then, I lost you to the Underground. Lena remembers that all too well. Don't you, Lena?" Suddenly, my sadness over Damas turned to rage. A rage I hadn't felt in a long time. Veger seemed to have a penchant for kidnapping people, didn't he? _

_ "You son of a bitch," Lena growled at the Count, "How could I forget catching you in the middle of hurting him with those experiments? I didn't know who he was, but I knew you were doing wrong by that child." She spit at him, and he just smirked, facing me as I glared at him and felt Dark Eco crackle from my skin. Next to me, both Dax and Paige shook with the same anger. _

_ "You seem upset," Veger taunted, "Did I tell you too late? You were the son of the great warrior, Damas. Oh, and he never knew. How delightful." _

_ That was it. Now he was asking for it! "AHHHH!" I roared, jumping up from the ground and transforming, "VEGER!" _

_ "Show some respect, you asshole!" Paige also snapped, leaping up as well. _

_ Veger only continued to smile in that infuriating manner. "Thank you for opening the door to the Precursors," he thanked us, "Don't worry. I'll be back to put you all out of your misery." With that, he made a move to jump in one of the rail cars. _

_ "Get back here, you bastard!" Paige thundered, running after him and jumping into the car with him as he took off. _

_ "After him, Jak!" Dax also shouted as he, Lena, and I watched them go. _

_ "You're willing to go down there?" I asked him in surprise, "Without a fuss this time?" _

_ "Yeah, well, don't get used to it!" Dax snapped, "It's just that nobody hurts my best friend and lives to brag about it! Let's get him!" _

_ "Go get him, boys!" Lena cheered fiercely as the two of us took the other car and chased after Veger and Paige. _

* * *

><p>"You…are…a…<em>disgusting…<em>human…being!" I fumed as I tried to knock Veger out of the car and onto the rails below us.

"Really?" Veger sneered, "I could say the same about you." I felt him grab me by my crop jacket collar as he tried to throw me out of the car, too, but I wouldn't be deterred.

"Taking pleasure in watching someone's father die is terrible and you know it! And I'm here to kill you for it! AHHHH!" I screamed and scratched Veger on the arm, making him lose control of the vehicle.

"And what you did during the war last year was saintly?" Veger replied, regaining control over the car, "What about the fact that you handled Dark Eco for that failure of a weapons program? You allowed it all to happen! _You_, Paige Smith, created a _monster!_"

"Don't throw the past at me, Veger!" I growled, "This isn't about me! It's about Jak, who is _not _a monster, and what you did to him!" I raised my hands up to the Count's neck and began to choke him. He overpowered me once again, getting me to let go of him.

Suddenly, we slowly cruised through the darkness and into the catacombs, where Veger quickly leaped out to avoid my Peacemaker. I caught up to him as he approached the massive Precursor technology all around us.

"Beautiful," he whispered, "This…is…magnificent." I, too, had to admit that seeing this in person was really something. It was real. It was all real.

"This was worth watching Damas die over?" I asked, bitterness creeping into my voice, "This is why you made our lives _miserable_? So you could _selfishly _give yourself more power?"

"All for a greater cause, Paige," the Count answered smoothly, "And I'm glad you jumped in that car after me." He reached for an Eco Pistol that had been strapped to his leg and pointed it at me, jamming it into the side of my head.

"Use your knowledge about the Precursors and open the Oracle for me," he ordered in a low voice, keeping his finger on the trigger. It was one thing for me to point a gun at someone else, but when it was the other way around…I didn't know what to make of it.

"Did you hear me?" Veger asked impatiently, "Open the Oracle." The Precursor Oracle remained shut. Would Veger just shoot me if nothing happened in another minute or so?

"Open it!" he commanded angrily, but I didn't flinch. I just stayed where I was as I fixed my gaze on the Oracle, not moving.

And then, something finally began to dawn on Count Veger.

Lowering the Eco Pistol for a minute, he widened his eyes as he considered me. "You don't have any knowledge about the Precursors," he realized, "Do you?"

_Finally, he got it, _I thought viciously to myself. I still didn't speak, but I was sure the way I wasn't answering did all the talking.

Growling in frustration, Veger spun me around to face him, and with a startling violence I had never seen before, he raised his hand and slapped me square across the face. "You _lied _to me!" he yelled, "You led me on this whole time!"

"I never _lied_," I hissed in an equally angry tone, "You just didn't want to believe me, since you were so paranoid. Hit me again, Veger. Go on. I dare you to lay a hand on me again."

"The Precursors do not reward liars, Paige," Veger chided, "And now, you will pay for committing this heinous crime." He pointed his pistol at me again, and I was getting ready to reach for the Peacemaker as we suddenly heard the sound of another car.

"Get behind here!" Veger ordered, grabbing me and hiding behind a pillar, "And don't say a word." He pressed the pistol deep into my back. We watched as Jak and Daxter stepped out of their car and stood in front of the same Oracle. I glanced at Veger, who raised his fingers to his lips to tell me to be quiet.

"**Greetings, great warrior**," it greeted, "**Before it is too late, you must power up the planet's defense system.**" Jak approached the slot and placed the Eco sphere into it, and I was dying to alert him of our presence.

"**The Eco sphere has begun its energy conversion. It will take some time for the weapon to fully charge.**" As the machine charged, a glowing, white Precursor emerged in front of them. _Wow, _I thought with wide eyes.

"**You have proven your worth, warrior**," it commented, "**We grant you the gift of evolution…the honor of becoming one of us.**" A shaft of light appeared in front of them, and Jak closed his eyes as he prepared himself to accept the honor.

Suddenly, Veger moved the pistol away from me and emerged from hiding. "No, don't!" I cried, trying to grab him, but he ignored me.

"Step aside!" Count Veger commanded, pulling out his Eco pistol and approaching the demolition duo, "_I_ will be the one who evolves into a Precursor! The right is _mine_!"

"Jak! Dax!" I cried, pushing past Veger and running over to them.

"You okay?" Jak asked quietly, "What happened there?" He pointed to the red mark on my cheek where Veger had slapped me.

"He finally realized I was telling the truth," I whispered.

"**Be careful what you wish for**," the Precursor Oracle warned, and suddenly, the same shaft of white light surrounded Veger and slowly lifted him into the air. The three of us watched in awe as he underwent the transformation into a Precursor. Once the process was complete, Veger returned to the ground and sighed.

"It is done," he announced, smiling at us, "Don't worry, Jak. It is for the greater good that I assume this role." He proceeded to try to shoot us when the Precursor Oracle interrupted again.

"**Even now, it may be too late**," the Oracle cautioned, "**If Erol awakens the dark ship's cargo, all will be lost.**"

"Listen, glow boy!" Daxter snapped, "We've been doing all your dirty work while you slept in the stars, so stuff it!"

"**Inefficient!**" the Oracle spat, "**I told you we needed a backup hero. We should have gone with Plan B**." We all suddenly glanced at each other in confusion as to where the conversation was turning.

"**Ow! Hey! Cut it out!**" the Precursor cried, moving back and forth violently, confusing us even more. The Precursor suddenly disappeared and a white light blinded all of us. I had to shield my eyes as it sounded like a door was opening.

"What's going on?" I asked the others.

"**We are unhappy with your performance,**" the Oracle said, "**If you had been a true hero, you would have stopped Erol by now!**"

But the four of us were not listening to it; instead, we were staring at what was behind the door with looks of pure shock on our faces. Three ottsels were sitting inside the contraption and one of them was speaking into a microphone. The ottsels seemed to realize what had happened as well, because they suddenly turned around and widened their eyes in horror.

Veger's mouth hung open and he dropped his staff as Jak petitioned, "Oh…my…_God_!"

"Am I seeing things?" Dax asked, grabbing onto Jak's shoulder, "_Please _tell me I'm not dreaming this!"

"Th-th-th-they're _ottsels_?" I gasped, "I got punished by a bunch of ottsels?" I knew it was rude of me to ask that, but I was in shock. I actually had to blink my eyes to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Nope. I definitely wasn't.

"**Yes…well…umm…now we are even more angry**," the Ottsel Leader stammered, trying to rectify the situation, "**And…ahh…we order you to avert your eyes or we will…umm…**oh bother!" He threw away the microphone and sighed. _Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain, _I couldn't help but think to myself.

"They look like…me?" Daxter asked, staring up at the ottsels.

"Not what you expected?" the Ottsel Leader asked knowingly.

"Yeah, we, like, get that a lot!" another Precursor that sounded like a surfer added. Jak face-palmed himself.

"Can you believe it?" I whispered to him.

"Don't look so upset," the Ottsel Leader continued, "If you knew we Precursors were a bunch of little fuzzy rats, would you worship us? Could we run the universe?"

"Not possible, buddy!" the Ottsel Surfer chimed in.

"So we…fluff up the myth…a bit."

"Then we get the respect we deserve!" the third Precursor, the Ottsel Dummy, explained.

"A bit?" I echoed skeptically, "I'd say you blew this one up a lot!"

"You idiots!" Veger suddenly snapped, pointing his pistol at the Precursors now, "Get down from there and stop defiling that glorious machine!"

_Bad move, Veger, _I thought to myself. The Ottsel Leader blasted Veger and encased him in a red bubble. I smirked to myself as he tried to get out of his prison.

"Do not let our size fool you," he warned, "We are the most powerful beings in the universe."

"We are?" the Ottsel Dummy asked, but the others quickly shushed him. _Hmm, _I thought.

"Why does Daxter look like…?" Jak started, but the Precursors answered over him.

"Ahh, yes. All eco contains the source of our essence. Our code, so to speak. When Daxter touched the dark eco, he was actually blessed when he thought he was cursed."

Daxter grinned and cheered, "Wahoo! I'm a Precursor!" He started dancing in his place, and despite everything that had happened, I chuckled into my hand.

"I'm a Precursor, I'm a Precursor!" he singsonged, "Hey, wait a minute! They have pants!"

"These creatures are the great Precursors?" Veger shrieked from his bubble, "And I wanted to evolve into…NO! AHHHH!" A red light surrounded him, and he soon transformed into an ottsel. He looked down at his new tail and sighed.

"A little drafty, isn't it?" Daxter asked him as the Count glowered at him.

"I think the new look suits you, Veger," I teased, and Veger bared his teeth at me as I smiled. As an ottsel, he was no longer a threat to any of us. We smirked before turning serious again as we faced the Precursors.

"The only way to ensure that Erol will not awaken the ship's cargo is to go there yourself and stop him," the Ottsel Leader explained, "We will send you there from here."

"But the weapon," Jak started.

"Chill out, buddy," the Ottsel Surfer replied, "You and your friends should have mondo minutes to go there and get back here pronto. Way before…"

"Hopefully before…"

"Baboom! Oh, yeah!" the Ottsel Dummy replied.

"Let's move!" Jak cried, and turned to go when the Ottsel Leader said one last thing.

"Oh, and Paige," he began. I faced him, somehow knowing that I wouldn't get off scot-free.

"Yes, we _are _the ones who punished you for defiling our Oracle," he confirmed.

I bowed my head in shame. "I'm sorry," I apologized, "I shouldn't have mocked you like that. Either then or now."

"There is nothing to be sorry for," the Ottsel Leader assured me, "You've already taken your punishment and completed it. Now, there is no time to lose. You must get to the ship."

Nodding, Jak, Daxter and I jumped through the gate behind us, tumbling through a vortex of light until we arrived in another area entirely.

* * *

><p>Everything was gray, and Dark Makers populated the room. "This must be the Dark Maker Ship," I whispered to Daxter.<p>

"Yeah," Jak confirmed, "I remember this from…from Haven Forest. The Astro-Viewer."

"Can you believe the Precursors?" Dax cried as Jak and I took out our weapons and defeated all the Dark Makers in the room, opening the door in the corner.

"Not at all," I answered, "So I guess the Precursor Stone was a myth? Or some sort of hologram?"

"It could be any of those," Jak sighed. Dax and I just glanced at each other.

"So…you okay, buddy?" Dax asked cautiously.

Jak glanced up again as we began to slide down another path into the next room. "Honestly," he began, "I don't know how to feel."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I added, "We're here for you."

Jak shook his head. "Not right now," he insisted, "We have to stop Erol."

"But Jak," Dax piped up, but Jak interrupted him.

"Not now, Dax," he growled. He pushed past us and continued on his way while we tagged along behind him.

"He'll come around," Dax whispered to me, and I nodded. It was better for Jak to handle his emotions the way he wanted to. I couldn't believe what had happened either, though. Damas was Jak's father, Veger had kidnapped Jak as a child, Lena had caught the Count in the middle of his experiments, and Jak was not just some random renegade, but _the _legendary Mar. It was so much to take in at once. How was Jak Mar? I guessed we would find out in due time.

We remained silent as we continued to infiltrate the Dark Maker Ship, opening passageways by killing more Dark Makers. At one point, we encountered some large gaps not unlike the ones in the Stadium ruins, and just like before, Jak transformed into Light Jak, grabbed me by the waist, and proceeded to take us across the abyss. We had to stop at a few platforms in the middle before gliding once again.

Once we were finished with that, Jak refilled on his Light Eco and returned to his usual self as we fought to open one more door. I wondered if the weapon was finished charging yet.

"Whoa!" Daxter suddenly gasped once we arrived in a room with a bunch of Dark Makers. They were _huge_, and after reading the Precursor lettering on the side of one of them, I saw they were Terraformers.

"Erol's really gone insane, hasn't he?" I whispered.

"There he is!" Jak cried, pointing at Erol in the distance, "Let's go!" With that, we nearly fell all over each other as we tried to run to stop him.

"If these nasty things ever wake up, the planet's finished!" Dax gasped.

"Let's hope that doesn't happen," I panted as we rounded the corner and caught Erol staring at one of them.

"All these Dark Makers at my command," he was saying to himself, "Just think what I could do!" _How about not? _I thought.

"You're through, Erol!" Jak shouted, drawing the cyborg's attention to us, "Even if we all die!"

"Not you!" Erol hissed, glancing at all three of us, "Not now!"

"AHHHH!" Jak screamed as he charged towards the redhead.

"NO!" Erol roared, pushing Jak towards the ledge and falling off as well.

"Damn it!" I cursed as Dax and I rushed over to the edge of the ledge, where Jak was still tumbling and Erol was turning on a jet pack on his back.

"Jak?" Daxter asked, "_Jak!_"

"No, no, no!" I stammered, "Jak!"

"Can you see him?" the ottsel questioned worriedly.

"No," I choked.

_Boom! _"What was that?" I asked.

"Look, toots!" Dax yelled, "Over there!"

Suddenly, a beam pierced right through the hull of the Dark Maker Ship. _The weapon from the catacombs! _I thought. "We've got to go!" I shouted, grabbing Daxter, "_Now_!"

"I'm not leaving without Jak!" Daxter cried.

"Don't worry!" I assured him, "We'll think of something!" Dax looked like he was about to cry, and it broke my heart.

Picking ourselves up, we began running towards the exit just as Erol flew back up to our level and climbed into one of the Terraformers. "Damn it!" I echoed from before, "He took one of those Terraformers!"

We continued to run as Erol made his escape, but the wind blowing on us was making it difficult to move. Suddenly, we both heard the sound of flapping wings, and turning around, we watched as Light Jak made his way back up to our level. "Jak!" we both cried happily. Thank the Precursors he was okay.

He quickly changed back as he caught up to us. "Let's go, guys!" he shouted, and without wasting another minute, we fought the wind, dust, and disintegrating platforms as we dashed towards the warp gate up ahead.

"Watch your step!" Jak warned as I nearly fell with one of the blocks that crumbled under my feet.

"AHH!" I screamed as I grabbed onto his shoulders to steady myself. Once that was over, we continued on our way.

"Almost there!" Daxter announced just as we hopped across one last unstable block and made it to solid ground.

"No time to celebrate!" Jak exclaimed, "Jump!" One by one, we jumped through the warp gate just as the Dark Maker Ship began to explode.

* * *

><p>Another vortex of light blinded me, and I tried shielding my eyes, even though it didn't do any good.<p>

After another minute of feeling like I was falling, I finally felt myself face plant into a pile of sand. _Sand! _I thought, _The Wasteland! Spargus! _

"Jak! Daxter!" I cried, noticing my friends also lying in the sand next to me. They groaned as they moved to sit up as well, and as soon as Dax was standing up, he began to do a victory dance.

"We did it!" he cheered, "Wahoo!"

_Zoom! _Suddenly, we gaze up at the sky as a ball of fire crashed in the distance. "Not yet," Jak mumbled.

Where the fire had crashed, the Terraformer stood up, and we could just catch a glimpse of Erol in the main seat. "You will all die at my hand!" he declared as he turned the machine around and began marching it through the Wasteland.

"This guy just won't quit!" Dax gasped, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"It's headed for the city!" Jak mused, "We've got to defend it…for Damas." He looked sad again, and I patted his shoulder.

"The last charge of the dark and light brigade!" Dax declared, "Let's do it, partner!"

"To the end," Jak replied, raising his scarf and climbing into the Sand Shark next to us.

"Are you coming, Paige?" the renegade asked.

I glanced from him to the Terraformer and back to him as I made my decision.

"Let's go get this bastard," I decided, climbing into the passenger seat of the Sand Shark as Jak put the pedal to the floor and sped off into the desert.


	22. The Dark and Light Brigade

One more chapter to go! Thanks again for the reviews! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p>The skies were even darker now as sand blew in our faces from the beginning of a fierce sand storm. Jak continued to drive the Sand Shark while I kept a lookout for Erol. "See anything yet, toots?" Daxter asked worriedly.<p>

"No," I replied, shaking my head and then adding, "Wait, there he is! Up ahead!"

Sure enough, the Terraformer was stomping through the desert, and Jak accelerated even more as he tried to catch up to it. "Hold on tight!" he shouted, "This is gonna get bumpy!"

And for once, I didn't complain about his driving. We needed the speed. We needed to catch up to Erol.

We sailed in the air for a few seconds before touching down on the ground below and finally arriving at the base of one of the legs. "What's that on the side?" Dax cried as he pointed at two purple pods that looked like a corrupted version of the Heart of Mar gem.

"We need to hit those to stop it!" Jak realized, "Paige, I'll drive! Get on the guns and see if you can hit all the pods we see! Try and aim as best as you can!"

"I'll try!" I shouted, taking my place at the guns as Jak made a sharp turn to the right. I almost lost control of the guns, but I managed to regain it as I aimed at those two pods Daxter had pointed out. Stray bullets bounced right off the armor, but a few of them hit their targets. Both pods popped, causing the leg to falter a little bit.

"All right!" I cheered, "That's two down already!"

"But still a lot left!" Dax yelled, pointing at the rest of the legs.

Out of nowhere, the Terraformer suddenly about-faced and began stomping in the other direction. "Hold on!" Jak cried again as he made another sharp turn.

"AHHHH!" Dax screamed as he tightened his grip on my shoulder. Once we were facing the right way, Jak sped through the Wasteland. I tightened my scarf around my nose and mouth a little bit as sand continuously flew into our faces, and I saw that Jak had lowered his goggles over his eyes. After hunting around a little bit, we caught up to another leg as it crashed down in the sand next to us. I couldn't help it; I screamed out loud as it came close to stepping on us. I wasn't going to lie and say I wasn't scared out of my mind, because I was.

"Crap!" Dax suddenly gasped, "Look!"

Jak and I both looked up as bombs began falling out of the base of the Terraformer. Thinking quickly, I aimed the guns towards them and shot them before we could crash into them. Once the bombs were gone, turbo boosts appeared in their place, and Jak collected three of them to use to our advantage. To our right, another foot I had been trying to hit stepped down, and I turned the guns again to destroy the two pods there.

"This is taking much longer than the fight with Kor!" I gasped, resting my hands for a minute as Jak used one of the turbo boosts to catch up to the front legs.

"We'll get him," Jak assured me, "Trust me."

Halfway through the task of destroying the legs, we all suddenly heard a whirring noise, and when we glanced to our left, we spotted a spinning blade making its rounds. "Look out!" the renegade shouted, and he jerked the Sand Shark to the right as I aimed the guns at this new weapon.

"What _was _that thing?" Dax shrieked.

"No clue," I mumbled, "Good riddance, though."

The rest of the legs were pretty easy to catch up to, and it wasn't until we arrived at the ruins in the Wasteland where we started to see some progress. A few of the legs began to spit out smoke.

"Can you see Erol in there?" I asked Jak and Daxter.

"No," Jak said, "He'd never directly fight us."

"Coward," Dax growled, and I had to chuckle in agreement.

We drove around for a little bit longer, crossing a bridge as we took on the rest of the weak spots on the legs. "I think this is it!" Jak cried to me, "Did you get it, Paige?"

"Just a few more bullets," I told him, "And…there! Got him!"

"Woohoo!" Dax cheered, leaping up in the air. We watched as all the legs fell off the Terraformer, leading the upper half to sail in the air as the smell of smoke reached our noses. Jak used our last turbo boost in order to follow the Terraformer, and we were surprised when we saw that it was crashing right outside Spargus. Good thing we had shot it down when we did.

"Come on!" Jak shouted, and we climbed out of the Sand Shark as we ran over to the upper half of the machine and scaled the side. Jak helped me climb up before hoisting himself onto the first platform. Out of nowhere, those same spiders we had fought when we battled Veger's Precursor Robot appeared, and we took them all on before stepping onto a mini elevator in the corner. Along the way, Jak refilled on Dark Eco.

"Just in case," he whispered to me when he caught me staring. I didn't say a word.

For the next few minutes, we continued to climb up the upper half of the Terraformer until we finally arrived at the main platform. The head where Erol was situated appeared and began to attack, along with other tentacles that popped up through the floor. "Time to die!" he shouted while we each prepared our weapons.

Jak shot a few bullets out of his Beam Reflexor, and in the first few minutes, we just watched as they bounced off all the spiders and tentacles. Once they were gone, I took out my Vulcan Fury and began to use that, watching as the bullets struck everything in their path. Occasionally, I glanced over at Jak, who was wearing a determined frown on his face as he concentrated on destroying Erol once and for all. If he really was _the _Mar from the legends and bedtime stories, then he was definitely living up to the title. He was protecting the universe, like he had been chosen to. That was his destiny. _If he's really Mar, _I thought, _then who came up with the name Jak for him? _

"_I'm _superior now!" Erol shouted over a sound system as he turned on an orange laser and chased us around the Terraformer.

"Oh yeah?" Daxter growled, "If you're so superior, why don't you come down here and fight us yourself?" The ottsel's comment narrowly got all of us blasted into oblivion. We quickly rolled out of the way and I threw my arm over my head to avoid some flying debris. I reloaded my Vulcan Fury again and handed some Blaster Gun ammo to Jak.

"Hey!" Daxter suddenly shouted, "What's that on his back?" Jak and I turned and saw that Erol had turned the head of the Terraformer around for a split second to reveal a red strip. He turned around again and swept the platform with the laser.

"Look! Over there!" I cried, noticing the sudden Dark and Light Eco vents that had opened. Jak ran over to the Light Eco vent and refilled his supply before transforming into Dark Jak and performing the Dark Strike. He missed the first time, but the second time he performed the move, he managed to strike Erol.

"AHHH!" Erol cried, whipping the head around to face us again. He leaned back before bringing the head crashing down to our level, sending a shock wave out in all directions. He repeated his motion a few more times as we ducked out of the way and narrowly missed getting crushed.

"Hold on, guys!" Jak said to us as Erol crashed onto us for one last time. He lifted the head back up and suddenly penetrated through the floor with more tentacles. Not only that, but more spiders appeared as well. _Crap, _I thought, _We're surrounded. _

"Now you see why I never lose!" Erol told us, laughing as he sent hordes of enemies after us.

Once I finished blasting a few enemies that were close to me, I replied, "You lost the race, didn't you?"

Erol laughed nervously. "Well, if you must bring that up again," he said to me, "You're all the reason I lost in the first place! Now, die, freaks!" Suddenly, another tentacle with a spinning blade on the end appeared not unlike the ones we had encountered in the first part of the battle.

"Watch out!" Daxter cried to Jak, and Jak activated his light shield quickly to avoid getting slashed.

"Are you okay?" we asked. Jak nodded, and I couldn't help but feel a little shaken from this fight.

The spinning blade was at it again, this time aiming for me. "This one's for you, Paige!" Erol taunted, laughing as I hopped out of the way of the blade. Before it could go after me again, I switched to the Peacemaker and destroyed it.

Once that was done, the usual tentacles and spiders made a comeback. "Stand back, Paige!" Jak warned me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Just trust me!" I noticed the Dark Eco crackling from his skin, and I knew what was about to happen. I grabbed the Peacemaker and made a run for it while Jak transformed into Dark Jak again. He ran forward, jumped in the air, and performed the Dark Bomb attack, destroying everything in its vicinity. No matter how often I had watched him do this, it still left me in awe every time.

"Impressive powers, Jak," Erol complimented from inside the Terraformer. Jak looked up at him in disgust as he returned to himself.

"You should know," the blond teenager snapped, "You gave them to me!"

"I deserve a pat on the back, don't I?" the cyborg teased, laughing.

"You deserve much worse than that," I added, raising the Peacemaker.

As the battle continued on, Erol laughed for the umpteenth time after he nearly crushed us with the dragon head…_again._ "It's a shame, Paige," he prattled, "We could've done a lot together, but you became friends with the Eco Freak. What has Jak done for you that I haven't?"

"Shut up!" I snapped, using the Peacemaker to take out two of the tentacles closest to me.

"He's helped her a lot more than you have, Metal Monkey!" Daxter cried over the wind.

"Tsk, tsk," Erol chided, "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"What would you know about truth?" Jak thundered.

"A lot more than you."

"I think you're _jealous_!" Dax commented, pointing at the massive Terraformer.

Erol scoffed. "Me, jealous?" he asked, "Of an Eco Freak? Of course not!"

"You are too!" I realized, "You're jealous of Jak and Keira's relationship, and his friendship with me and Daxter. Just admit it."

"I am not!" Erol boomed, though we were all sure of it at this point.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Jak retorted angrily, putting the cyborg's words back in his mouth.

With that, Erol turned on the orange laser and struck us all, hitting Jak in the stomach.

"_Jak!_" Dax gasped, and the renegade picked himself up as he clutched the injury. The usual humming that accompanied Light Jak filled the air as he used Light Eco to heal himself while we watched in awe. Once he was finished with that, we picked ourselves up and tried to heal ourselves with whatever other Green Eco supplies we had.

"Was that too much for you?" Erol yelled at us, chasing us with the orange laser yet again, "Stand still so I can kill you!"

"No!" Daxter replied. We all knew the former KG Commander was pissed now, but considering how he had tried to kill us in the past, it seemed like a minor price to pay.

Once the red strip was facing us again, Jak raced forward and used the Dark Strike to attack it. The cyborg screamed from the blow and angrily turned the head towards us.

"Payback time!" he shrieked, bringing the head crashing down to our level again. This time, there were no Dark or Light Eco vents, so we had to make sure we didn't get hurt. We dashed from one side of the Terraformer to the other, all while avoiding Erol's head. I almost lost my footing and fell off the side from one of the shock waves, but I felt Jak grab my wrist at the last minute to steady me.

"Thanks, Jak," I whispered to him. He nodded as he pulled me back onto the platform. After Erol was finished attacking us, he turned his head to the side and exposed the red strip, which was starting to smoke as well. Jak took out the Vulcan Fury this time as he raised it and shot, completely destroying the strip and causing the Terraformer's head to sway back and forth precariously.

"Did we do it?" Daxter asked breathlessly, "Did we defeat him?"

"Almost," Jak muttered just as we caught a glimpse of Erol sitting inside, looking shocked and infuriated at the same time. Jak seemed to be in deep thought about something.

"All right, Paige!" he shouted, "I need you to trust me right now! Take Dax, and jump when I tell you to!"

"_What?_" both Dax and I gasped at the same time.

"It's the only way to end this!"

"Don't tell me you're gonna sacrifice yourself, too!" Dax yelled, "We need you!"

"I've got this!" Jak assured us, "Just wait for my cue. I'll be right behind you."

I wasn't sure about this, but Jak said to trust him, and it seemed like the best course of action. "Promise you'll be right behind us?" I asked, just to make sure.

"I promise," he assured me, and I knew he was being serious.

"Good luck," both Daxter and I whispered as I allowed the ottsel to crawl onto my shoulder. For some reason, I felt tears prick at my eyes; even though Jak continually reassured us that everything would be all right, I was still scared out of my mind. Once again, I thought about how far we had both come since the day we first directly met in the alley outside the Underground hideout. We had been through two whole adventures together, and he and Dax had been through three. How had it all come to this, with Jak facing the possibility of death head on? _He's just like his father, _I thought, getting even more teary-eyed.

"Paige!" I heard Erol scream at me from inside the Terraformer's head. I glanced over at him.

"If you and the Eco Freak jump, I'll kill you both!" he threatened, "If the fall doesn't kill you first!" Jak only aimed his Peacemaker at the head, switching the mod over to the Super Nova he had shown me at one point in the Stadium ruins. _Oh, shit, _I thought, _He means business. _

"Ready, Paige?" Jak shouted.

"I think so!" I cried, tears rolling down my cheeks. I lifted Daxter off my shoulder and held him in my arms.

"Ready?" Jak repeated. Dax and I both nodded silently, unable to say anything this time around.

"Jak! Paige!" I could have sworn I heard Erol cry, but it was lost in the sand storm around us.

It seemed to happen in a flash, but Daxter and I watched as Jak pulled the trigger, activating the Super Nova. "_Now_!" he yelled. On cue, I turned and leaped off the edge, praying to the Precursors that things would turn out okay.

"AHHHHH!" Dax yelped the minute we began to feel like we were falling. I peeked over my shoulder and watched as Jak quickly put away his gun, transformed into Light Jak, and spread his wings. Just as the top half of the Terraformer began to explode, Jak raced for the edge, jumped, and grabbed my waist almost instantaneously. It was from that point on where I knew everything would be fine.

Behind us, the Terraformer continued to explode, the shock from the blast pushing us forward in the air. Above me, Jak set his sights for the ground far away from the base of the Dark Maker machine, and he veered off to the right to avoid some flying debris. I held Dax close to me the whole time, and thankfully, he had stopped screaming. I allowed myself to breathe again as Jak continued to fly away from the wreckage.

_I can't believe it, _I thought, _We won. We won the battle! _

A few seconds later, Jak finally found a place far enough away from the Terraformer, and he landed gently, letting go of me as he clutched his head and sent the Light Eco away. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"It's over," Jak mused, "It's actually over."

"Erol's dead for good this time!" Daxter pointed out.

"We won," I sighed as the three of us turned and watched the Terraformer continue to be destroyed in all its fiery glory. The sand storm began to clear as well.

In the distance, we heard the sound of cars grinding to a stop, and when we whipped around, we gasped at who we saw. "Ashelin and Sig!" I realized.

Sure enough, both Ashelin and Sig stood by their cars as they waited for us, and with that, the three of us began striding towards them, Jak and I putting our weapons away. I was sure we were covered with scars and bruises, which we would get treated back in Spargus. I could tell this made Jak and Daxter look badass, and they were.

By the time we reached our friends, we watched as they approached us as well. "It's over," I sighed, smiling at both of them.

No words were exchanged the whole time, but Ashelin and I reached out and hugged each other before both Jak and I shook hands with Sig. Ashelin scratched Daxter behind the ears before finally facing Jak. She just smiled as she moved close to him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and leaned in to kiss him.

_Whoa! _I thought, _Where the hell did that come from? _I didn't remember Jak and Ashelin ever liking each other as more than friends, but oh well. I knew Ashelin had shown signs of being attracted to the renegade, but I wondered how this would play into Jak's relationship with Keira, as well as Ashelin and Torn.

Once they were finished kissing, Ashelin stepped back and stroked Jak's cheek as a blush crept up his face. He just smiled as she also grinned sheepishly, a first for her. "I knew you wouldn't forget who you were," she whispered to him.

"I can't now," Jak said in response as the Baron's daughter backed away from him. He then glanced over at me, where I just winked before pulling him into a hug of my own. He returned it just as I sighed again.

"Damn," I cursed, "We've been through a lot, haven't we? I mean, we survived _two _wars!"

"We are one kickass team!" Daxter chirped, and we all shared a quiet chuckle as we took another look at the Terraformer, which was still on fire.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two days later…<strong>_

Had it all been a dream? It sure felt like it when I woke up two days later. However, the Green Eco bandages plastered all over me made me realize that everything was finally over. The Dark Maker Ship had been destroyed, and Erol…Erol was gone for good. It was hard to believe, but that was the reality of the situation.

Unlike the rest of the time we had lived out here, Ashelin and Sig had taken us back to the Palace to rest and recuperate while some of the Palace workers tended to our injuries. I wondered if Jak and Daxter were still sleeping. Now that the action was starting to die down, the full weight of being Damas's son, Mar, had to be settling in good for the first time since it was revealed.

Stretching my arms over my head, I walked over to the closet and picked out a tan sundress and sandals, quickly dressing so that I could see if I could find my friends. The halls were surprisingly quiet, but I soon figured out why: everyone was mourning the death of the King of Spargus.

"Paige," someone called out to me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Ashelin.

"Hey," I greeted, "What's going on?"

"All our friends from Haven are here," Ashelin announced, "Whenever you guys are ready, meet us at the base of the Palace. Sig's getting all the Wastelanders together for Damas's funeral."

I felt the same, sinking feeling I had gotten when I had watched Damas die two days ago. "Oh," I said sympathetically, "Of course. Jak told you, didn't he?"

"He did," Ashelin confirmed. I must have looked like I was about to cry, because Ashelin's facial expression changed.

"Paige?" she asked.

"I feel so bad for Jak," I admitted, "The way he looked when he realized…you know…" Ashelin sighed.

"We've got to be strong for him right now," she told me, gripping my shoulder. She was right. I reflected on the fact that Ashelin Praxis knew what it was like to lose a father, and I was dying to ask her about it, but I knew this wasn't the appropriate time and place for that. Instead, I just nodded in agreement.

"I'll see where Jak and Daxter are," I whispered, and Ashelin nodded as well before turning and walking away. I took the familiar steps towards the Throne Room where we had first met Damas, as I was getting the feeling Jak was in there.

Sure enough, the first thing I spotted was Jak sitting in Damas's throne as he stared down at his amulet. I wanted to reach out and say something, but what could I say? I was getting ready to enter when I heard someone address me from out in the hallway.

"Paige," Daxter piped up as he crawled up onto my shoulder.

"Come on," he whispered, "Let's leave the big guy alone. He'll meet up with us when he's ready."

I didn't feel right leaving Jak by himself, but I knew Dax had a point. Jak needed time to process all this. I glanced at the renegade one last time before turning the other way, but not before catching a glimpse of Jak burying his face into his hands and watching his shoulders tremble a little bit.


	23. Open Book

All right! This is the final chapter of "Fight the Power"! I found the first part a little hard to write, but I managed to write it. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! It means a lot to me when I see all this support, so thank you! :) The next story should be out very soon, so keep an eye out for it! Thanks again, guys!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

><p><em>It was time. I could feel it. <em>

_ I didn't want to face the fact that Damas-my father-was…well…not here anymore, but I knew I would have to. Now that the war was over, I had more time to think about what had happened in the Stadium ruins, and it just made me more upset. I was still in shock over this revelation. I clutched my amulet in my hands as I got up and left the Throne Room. I could hear trumpets just outside the Palace, and I knew what was happening. Damas's-Father's-funeral. What was I supposed to call him? "Father" wasn't one I used too often in reference to somebody, so that was why I felt confused. _

_ I was the last one to emerge from the Palace for the funeral, and once I made it outside, everyone turned to stare at me. Unlike the other times in Haven, these were not stares of hatred and disgust, but sorrow and sympathy, a first for me. It seemed like everyone knew how Damas and I were related now, as well as what Veger had said to me in the ruins. _

_ I walked by all my friends from Haven: Ashelin, Samos, Keira, Paige, Daxter, Onin, Torn, Tess, Pecker, Eileen, David, and Jinx (who each reached out and hugged me), as well as all the Wastelanders, Seem and her monks, Kleiver, Sig, and Lena. I glanced over at Lena and noticed she was carrying a specially made cage with Count Veger in it. _

_ "Shut your mouth and show some respect, you little bastard," I heard Lena hiss at him, "Before I shut it for you." She rattled the cage a little bit in an attempt to scare him. _

_ "Get his ass out of here," one of the other Wastelanders said to her in response. I didn't want Veger here, especially not here. Whatever he said, it must have been disrespectful for Lena to be threatening him so fiercely. She nodded and quickly disappeared to place the recently ottsel-fied Veger somewhere else. _

_ "I better not hear another peep out of you," she hissed at him, "Got it?" I didn't hear the rest of the exchange, but I just ignored it. There were more important things happening right now. _

_ I took my place at the front of the processional, where Kleiver and Sig were waiting for me. The soldiers behind them held a coffin in their hands, which had flowers situated on it. "Ready?" Sig whispered to me. I just nodded silently, refusing to look at the others. _

_ More trumpets struck up a melancholy tune as we began to march through Spargus. It seemed like the entire city had shown up for this, and why shouldn't they? Damas was their king. He had rescued them from certain death in the desert. I stole a glance at the coffin, sighed, and patted the top of it. I then noticed all the monks were carrying flowers as well. _

_ All around the city, flags were lowered, and other Spargus citizens removed their helmets and bowed their heads as we passed by. Some of them even joined the processional. _

_ We continued to slowly march as we approached the beach, and I realized that was where we were going to lay Damas to rest. Oh, Precursors. It was so much to process, but one glance at everyone marching beside me made me realize I wasn't alone in this. _

_ After another twenty minutes, we finally arrived at our destination, and the soldiers carrying the coffin moved towards the front of the line, standing in the water as Seem cleared her throat. "Brothers and sisters," she began, moving to stand next to me and Sig, "We are gathered here today in a day of sorrow. To pay our last respects to King Damas." I closed my eyes for a minute. _

_ Sig opened his mouth next. "Damas was a good king," he quipped, "A loving father, and an excellent Commander. I am here today to say how proud I was to stand by him in all conflicts. He always put everyone else before himself, and that is what made him a remarkable man. I will never forget the kindness he's shown me and to all those who were allowed to stay in Spargus." _

_ "I'll never forget when he gave me my first vehicle," Kleiver added a few minutes later, "He told me, 'Kleiver, you're one of my best men', eh? He taught me how to keep all them cars in good shape. Good advice from a strong fellow." _

_ To everyone's surprise, Ashelin spoke up once Kleiver was finished. "After my father banished Damas," she began, taking a deep breath to steel herself, "We kept in close contact, and I regretted not being able to stop him from being sent to the Wasteland. But he was always hopeful about the war. He always thought positively." She closed her eyes and stepped away from the coffin, and that was when I decided to say what was on my mind next. Hearing everyone say nothing but good things about my father gave me the courage to do the same. I pushed my way through the crowd as I stood next to Sig. _

_ "Even though I…didn't know him for very long," I said quietly, "He took me in when Haven City threw me out. He helped me and my friends get back on track and taught me some valuable lessons. _

_ "He taught me not to be too quick to anger, to make war my own. I'm just sorry I never got to know him as a father. I wish I could…have that chance now. To know him as a son should know a father. I'm glad I got to spend whatever time I had with him." I stepped down, and after I was finished, some of the soldiers began to play their trumpets again as they formed two lines opposite from each other. Sig and Kleiver took that as their cue to take the coffin from some of the others, and they slowly carried it towards the water as I followed closely behind them. The monks set up some torches firmly in the sand and lit them as all my friends moved forward. Many of them placed their flowers beside the torches while others scattered them in the water and on top of the coffin. The trumpets blared even louder as Sig and Kleiver waded into the sea and finally placed the coffin in the tides, allowing the current to carry my father out to somewhere open. _

_ As the coffin sailed out to sea, Sig made one last remark. "May we all remember Damas," he intoned as we all stared out into the horizon, "A brave soldier, and a kind, but firm king. To Damas. Rest in peace." _

_ "To Damas," we chanted, raising our fists into the air. I looked around at everyone's somber faces, and I was grateful to have the support. _

_ Everyone from Haven approached me just as the Wastelanders quietly exited the scene. That was fine; I just didn't want to leave yet. _

_ "Hey," Dax whispered, crawling on my shoulder for the time being as Keira, Samos, and Paige moved to stand next to me with the others in tow. _

_ "You okay?" Keira asked, taking my hand in hers, and I felt guilty for the kiss with Ashelin from a few days ago. _

_ "I'm fine," I assured all of them, "Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate it." _

_ "Anything to help out a friend," Paige said, lightly punching my shoulder as she smiled sadly. I glanced over at her and cautiously returned it; she, Sig, and Dax were the only ones who had seen me kiss Ashelin, and I prayed that none of them would tell Keira. If anything, I would be the one to mention it. Not today, though. This wasn't the day for it. _

_ "Well, you guys have been great," I said gratefully. _

_ "Onin says that the Precursors are requesting an audience with you in the arena in two days," Pecker translated for Onin, who was waving her hands at the same time. _

_ I sighed. It hadn't even been a week and I was already being saddled with so many responsibilities. "You guys go back to the Palace," I said, "I think I'm going to hang out here for a while." _

_ "You sure?" Torn asked quietly. _

_ I nodded. _

_ "Okay, then," Keira quipped, "We'll see you back at the Palace. Feel better." She planted a kiss on my cheek, making me feel guilty once again. I could see Daxter and Paige both staring at me, watching the whole exchange. _

_ One by one, the others turned and retraced the steps we had taken earlier until Paige was the last one to leave. I knew Dax and Sig would always let me take care of my own business, but I wasn't sure about Paige. "Paige!" I called out to her. _

_ She turned around, raising an eyebrow as I gestured for her to come back. "Don't tell Keira about…you know…" I whispered to her. _

_ Paige just shook her head. "Your secret's safe with me," she assured me, "But you better tell her before it gets too ugly." _

_ "I will," I said to her, "But not now." Paige just nodded and then squeezed my shoulder. _

_ "I'll see you later," she whispered, turning to walk away. Now that I was left to my own devices, I took my shoes off and waded into the water, fixing my gaze on the floating coffin, which was now a little further out in the sea. _I guess this is it, _I thought sadly as I took in the flowers and the torches that would always burn for the King of Spargus. I was sure he would be proud of me for taking a stand and defeating the Dark Makers, and that thought in itself made me smile a little bit. _

_ "Goodbye, Father," I whispered, "Rest in peace." _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two days later…<strong>_

"I can't believe the Precursors are coming," I said to Eileen and Lena as we all prepared to meet the creators of this planet. After a quick introduction, Eileen and Lena had gotten along pretty well, and as of now, we were dressed and putting the last few touches on our hair and makeup.

"I can't believe they're ottsels," Lena commented, "Is that why Veger came back as an ottsel in a cage made by the Precursors?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, nodding, "He's among their ranks now, though he doesn't look too happy about it."

"I'll say," Eileen added, "But then again, you get what you deserve."

"I'm right here, you know," Veger piped up from said cage, and all three of us turned to face him. He had tried to bite his way out, but there was no escape for him. It seemed that the Precursors had entrusted Lena with the little rat for the time being, and she was doing a damn good job of keeping him in line.

"I demand that you let me out right this instant!" he cried, shaking a tiny fist in the air. Eileen, Lena, and I all glanced at each other and cracked up, the first time I had laughed in days.

"I'm sorry," I replied with a grin on my face, "What was that?"

"You heard me, you infernal girl! Let me out!"

"Not a chance," Eileen laughed, "Why risk having you escape?"

"I'm a _Precursor! _You can't hold me here!"

"_Now _you're one of them," I said, rolling my eyes, "How about we let you out when we feel like it?"

"This is an outrage!" Veger complained, rattling the cage, "This is sacrilege!"

"Shut your trap," Lena growled, pointing a hairbrush at Veger, "All that ever comes out of your mouth is noise."

"You will all burn for this!" Veger promised, baring his teeth at us, "I swear it!"

All three of us laughed again. "Yeah, okay," I chuckled, "Nice try, Veger."

"You're not scary anymore," Eileen said, smiling as the Count glared at her.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and grinning, Eileen leaped up and answered it. "Hey, Jak!" she greeted, letting Jak into the room. Lena and I pulled him in so that he could sit down with us, and Veger growled at him, though the renegade paid him no mind.

"Hey," Jak replied, "What's so funny in here?"

"Little rat over there thinks he can threaten us," Lena answered, pointing at Veger, "We've been having a bit of fun with him." Jak just shook his head at the Count, ignoring him as the latter continued to curse him out under his breath.

"So what's up?" I asked.

"Samos sent me to get you guys," Jak reported, "They're here."

At this, we all leaped up. "We're on our way," Eileen said, and we poured out of the room, almost leaving Veger and the cage.

"I want to come!" he whined, "Can you at least do that for me?"

We all considered it for a minute, and then Lena scooped up the cage from the small table it had been sitting on. "All right, you can come," she decided, "But keep your mouth shut!" Veger just sighed. Seeing him depressed was oddly…satisfying.

* * *

><p>In the arena, the Spargus army played trumpets again, but this time, they struck up a much happier tune as we all took our places close to Damas's throne, which was now occupied by Sig. In front of us, the Precursors stood on a platform in front of some kind of vehicle. I glanced around at the serious expressions on all our faces, and I saw Lena had let Veger out of the cage, but she and Kleiver were still standing close to him, just in case.<p>

"Thank you, brave people of this planet!" the Ottsel Leader began, raising his staff, "Onin, Samos, and all! You strength and wisdom in these dark times give us reason to fight on."

Samos looked proud from where he stood next to Keira. "My life's work, it turns out, was spent searching for a bunch of fur balls," he commented, earning a chuckle from the rest of us.

"Onin says it is a great day for the universe!" Pecker translated with a gleeful expression on his face.

"Jak, you are the greatest of heroes," the Ottsel Leader said to him, "You have turned the tide against the Dark Makers, and together, we will win this war."

"But dude," the Ottsel Surfer added, "There are, like, _way _more adventures in the future."

"Duh," the Ottsel Dummy said, "Or was it the past?"

"Yes, yes!" the Ottsel Leader huffed, "I was getting to that!"

"More adventures?" Jak asked, glancing over his shoulder to smile at me, "Where have I heard _that _before?" I just winked at him.

"I think there's something Samos didn't tell us that night," I joked.

"We need heroes like you to help us protect the universe, Jak," the Ottsel Leader told him.

Jak suddenly looked solemn. "Then you can call me by my first name," he declared, "By what my father called me: Mar." This earned a gasp from everybody else.

"Wait, wait," Ashelin piped up from next to Seem, "Jak is Mar? _The _Mar?" Seem just nodded, and I had a flashback to the night after the first war ended.

"_I've got a feeling we'll meet Mar some day," Samos had said as he, Jak, Daxter, Sig, Pecker, and I all glanced up at the sky, "He might be closer than you think." _

Had Samos somehow known that Jak was Mar? We had been in the presence of a holy warrior this whole time?

"Come then, Mar," the Precursors said, "No time like the present." Jak stepped up a little further and then turned towards his best friend.

"You coming, Dax?" he asked.

Dax stretched his arms out and leaned against Tess. "Naw," he declined, "I got all I need right here, baby. But if you need me and I know you will, you know where to find me."

"Oh, Daxter!" Tess squealed as she rubbed his stomach, "My little hero!"

The Precursors faced him next. "We owe you much, Daxter," the Ottsel Leader said, "For all you've done. For your bravery in the face of incredible danger, we shall grant you your deepest desire." Daxter leaped up and grinned slyly, and I could only guess what he was wishing for.

"Ya know," he started, "I could really use a snazzy pair of pants. Like yours." _I knew it! _I thought triumphantly to myself.

The Precursor pointed his staff at Daxter, and in a flash of light, the ottsel suddenly found himself sporting a pair of pants.

"Wow!" Tess cried, "Those are sharp! I wish I had a pair just like that!"

"Be careful what you wish for," the Ottsel Leader advised before pointing the staff at Dax's girlfriend. We all heard a pop, and then, Tess was gone and an ottsel was in her place. I could hear a low rumble in the audience as everyone went, "Aww!"

"That's so cute!" Eileen cooed from next to David.

Daxter approved as well as he whistled. "Don't worry, honey," he assured her, "You get used to it. Oh, and you might wanna shave some parts. Trust me on that." He pulled her in for a kiss when the unthinkable happened.

"Hey!" Jak called out, interrupting Dax and Tess's kiss instead of the other way around, "Thanks for everything, partner!" He gave the ottsel the thumbs up.

"You are a great hero, Daxter," Seem said in reverence, bowing to Dax.

"This is gonna be good," Dax decided, "They think I'm a god…and they're _right_!"

"**Our hero!**" the other Precursors from inside their vehicle chanted. Jak then flicked his gaze to me, where I was standing a little further away from Daxter and Tess.

"Paige!" he addressed me, and I glanced up at him as I bit my lower lip.

"Yes?" I asked, bowing slightly before I noticed he was grinning.

"It's okay," he assured me, "You don't have to bow."

"But you're Mar," I reasoned, "It only seems fair."

"No, it's all right," he replied, "Anyway, thank you."

I stopped bowing. "For what?" I asked. _He couldn't possibly be thanking me for making all the mistakes I made, _I thought, _Could he?_

"For listening," was all Jak said, "While we were out here."

I just smiled as everyone stared at me. "You're welcome," I retorted, folding my hands.

"Ahh, yes," the Ottsel Leader chimed in, "I was getting to that, too. We would like to thank you as well, Paige, for your unwavering loyalty to Mar. When we gave you your mission during the first war, we were hoping you would become a Guardian of Mar while he was young to atone for your mistakes in the Fortress, but you have done much more than that. You have been a good friend. You still carried on with your unofficial title even after the mission had been completed, and for that, we will also grant you one wish."

_Wow, _I thought, _Guardian of Mar. They sure put a lot of pressure on me back in the day. _It made sense, though, to have to watch over the person I had helped to hurt in order to make up for that.

I closed my eyes for a second. "I'd like to be able to let my friends know when I'm coming back," I decided, remembering how Keira had told me how I should have given them a heads up to my return.

"Done," the Precursors declared, and I felt a slight pinching in my body. I guessed that was going to take care of it somehow.

"You have to leave again?" Dax cried from next to Tess.

"Just for a little while," I assured him, "But this time, you'll know when I'm back." I nodded at everyone.

"Time to leave," the Ottsel Leader said, glancing at the vehicle again.

Suddenly, I heard a loud sigh, and I turned my head to see that Veger was staring down at the ground from where he stood near Kleiver and Lena. "This is going to be a long trip," he groaned, moving forward to leave with Jak and the other Precursors. Lena frowned and was getting ready to stop him when Kleiver suddenly stepped on his tail. In that moment, Lena's expression turned from angry to victorious as Kleiver picked Veger up.

"Where do you think _you're _going, little bugger?" he asked, "I've decided I want me own sidekick and _you've _been nominated." Veger waved his paw in front of his face, and I widened my eyes as I began laughing to myself. Being an ottsel was already torture for him, and being Kleiver's sidekick was the icing on the cake.

"Go ahead, Kleiver," Lena encouraged, "You can have him."

"Oh, no," Veger moaned, "I'd rather be back with Lena." Kleiver suddenly placed the ottsel on his shoulder like Jak and Daxter.

"We're gonna be a great team," he said to Veger before growling and holding up a fist, "Just don't make me angry!" _Oh, man, _I thought, _That's going to be a nightmare for Veger. _

"Are you ready, Jak?" the Precursors asked as we all faced them again, "We have something to show you."

"What?" Jak questioned.

"The universe!" After glancing at all of us one last time, he climbed into the vehicle with the rest of the Precursors, which closed and then took off into the sky. We just stood in awe for a minute as Jak disappeared, and nobody could think of anything to say until a few seconds later.

"_Jak!_" Dax yelped, and I whirled around to see Jak standing behind his friend.

"I couldn't leave ya, Dax," he said, "With all our adventures ahead of us, you wouldn't last a second without me!"

"Good to have you back, soldier," I replied, smiling until I felt my mouth would ache.

"Ahh," Pecker sighed, "What a team we are!"

Daxter faced him, keeping up their rivalry from Haven City. "Yeah?" he challenged, "Well the next adventure, _I_ call the shots. Put 'er there, partner." He extended his paw to shake one of Pecker's wings, but pulled away at the last minute.

"HA!" he laughed as Pecker frowned, "Psych! Oh yeah, life is good."

"How _did _you get back so fast?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"I finished what the Precursors wanted me to do," Jak explained, "And then they sent me back to this moment."

"Makes perfect sense," I mumbled, "Did you see Veger? Kleiver made him his sidekick."

"Oh, boy," Jak replied, and we all glanced over at Kleiver, who was taking the cage from Lena and placing the recently changed Count back into it.

"We're gonna have a lot of fun together, eh?" Kleiver was saying to Veger, "Come on. I've got a job for us to do, and you're just the little critter to do it." Veger pressed his face against the bars, almost silently pleading for us to rescue him as Kleiver shepherded him away from the rest of us. We all just grinned at him, and for extra measure, I blew him a kiss.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next night…<strong>_

As the afternoon rolled into the evening, all of us got together in the Coast Section and decided to hold a festival in celebration of the end of the war. We stayed mostly in the marketplace in order to leave Damas's memorial by the beach undisturbed, and Seem brought the wine of the Precursors, the same wine Veger had offered to me when he kidnapped me. As we all helped ourselves to snacks, we filled our glasses with wine and held them up in the air.

"To Jak, the hero of this planet!" Samos declared.

"To Jak!" the rest of us chanted as we clicked our glasses together and took a sip. _Veger wasn't kidding, _I thought, _This is good wine. _I quickly glanced around as I spotted Onin standing near Sig. She had a glass of wine as well, and I remembered how drunk she had gotten at the end of the last war.

"So how does it feel being a hero?" Daxter asked, "Along with me, of course?"

Jak chuckled tentatively with a smile. It was the first time he had truly smiled since all this had happened. "It's been crazy," he admitted, "But good."

"I love your new pants, Dax," I complimented as the ottsel hopped around, showing off his new outfit.

"I'm just glad to finally have them again after three adventures!" he chirped.

"See? I told you you'd get them again," Jak joked, taking another sip of his drink.

"How about you?" Daxter continued, facing me after taking a swig of wine, "Miss Guardian of Mar?"

I laughed and swatted at him. "That was a nice surprise," I said, "I guess I was sort of a bodyguard, huh? When I went on all those missions with you? I even tried to protect the Kid!"

"You mean me," Jak corrected, chuckling as well.

"Same difference."

"Well, you did have my back." It felt good to see Jak laughing and smiling again after his tears two days ago. Granted, his eyes were still darkened in sadness over Damas, but he was coming to terms with it. And with being Mar.

"So," I began hesitantly, "How are you feeling?"

Jak looked thoughtful just as Ashelin, Torn, Keira, Eileen, and David swaggered over to us. "I don't think I'll ever be okay with what happened to Damas," he replied, "But I know he's still watching over me."

"And we've got your back, too," Torn added patting Jak's shoulder as we all just stood around him and gazed up into the night.

* * *

><p>The party lasted for hours, and once everyone had burned out and decided to go to sleep, I took a private room for myself in the Palace, but not before I grabbed a pen and paper and left a note for Jak and Daxter.<p>

_Jak, Dax, _I wrote in the, Precursor lettering, _I have to leave. I'm sorry this is so sudden, but I promise that you'll both know when I'm coming back, because I definitely have plans to. Take care of yourselves, both of you. And tell the others that I'm sorry and that I'll be back soon. Your friend, Paige. _

There. That would take care of that. I left it by Jak's sleeping form as I crossed back into my room and laid down to sleep. Just like last time in Haven Forest, I fell into a deep slumber as my head began to hurt. I could feel it. I was going home.

* * *

><p>I felt myself break out into a cold sweat as I finally regained consciousness. Why did it always have to be this way? I couldn't even say goodbye to any of the others. Nevertheless, I was glad to be going home after being away for so long.<p>

As Anna's room returned to me by degrees, I strained my ears as I listened for the sound of the bathroom. _I bet she'll be out soon, _I thought, _It'll be like I was never gone. _

Sure enough, the bathroom door opened, and Anna stepped outside just as I flicked my gaze back to the TV, where the main menu was flashing on the screen. "All right, I'm back!" she announced cheerfully as I quickly sat up and straightened myself out.

"Good," I said, "Now we can get started with this game." I was dying to tell her about my adventure, but I knew she wouldn't believe me. Who would?

"You okay, Paige?" Anna asked me, tilting her head to the side, "You look really tired."

"I'm fine," I assured her, "It's just been a long day. You know, with that bitch from the track earlier today."

"Yeah," my friend agreed as she sat next to me, "So, this is the third game in the series. What happened in the first two?"

I took a deep breath. "Well, I never played the first one, but this is what happened." And with that, I proceeded to fill her in on all the events of _The Precursor Legacy_, followed by _Jak II. _While I was describing the storyline of the latter game, I noticed Anna was narrowing her eyes as she considered me.

"Wow," she commented once I was finished, "The games must be really good, then, for you to be describing them in such detail."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"It's almost like you lived them or something. Especially _Jak II._"

_HA! _I thought to myself, _She couldn't be more right if she tried. _"They are good games," I admitted, "My sisters got me into them. Want to see _Jak 3_?"

"Sure," Anna said, sitting next to me as I restarted the game to play the cutscene I had accidentally skipped in the beginning. I felt a mix of emotions as we watched Count Veger banish Jak to the Wasteland, and I found myself feeling both angry at how much of an asshole Veger was and happy that I knew he would get his comeuppance later.

"Paige?" Anna asked, noticing my facial expressions.

"Sorry," I apologized, "But I hate Count Veger with a passion."

"So you've already played the game before tonight?" my friend inquired.

Too late, I realized my mistake. "Oh!" I gasped, "Well, I sort of had a preview…"

I tried not to look at Anna a few minutes later during the cutscene where Jak and Daxter first met Damas, for I was sure I was going to start crying spontaneously. Instead, I glanced down at the cover for _Jak 3_. I didn't want to spoil the game for her.

So for the next few hours, we continued to play the game, and I even let Anna play for a while as I slowly began to relax and enjoy myself. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later on that night…<strong>_

_Even as Anna and Paige had eventually met up with their friends and tried to stay up all night, Paige realized she couldn't, and she ended up falling asleep on Anna's couch. Anna, however, was still awake as she considered her friend. Paige had been awfully mysterious during the time they were playing Jak 3, and she was determined to find out what was going on. _Good thing Paige is a heavy sleeper, _she thought to herself. _

_ Getting up so that she wouldn't wake up Paige, Anna tiptoed back into her living room, where the Playstation 2 was still hooked up, and she placed the Jak 3 disk into the tray. She waited impatiently for the game to load, and she skipped over the opening cutscene before getting to the main menu. However, something strange happened. _

_ The minute she hit the Start Button, Anna suddenly felt a shock from the controller. She quickly dropped it and covered her mouth so that she wouldn't scream. In that moment, a message began to flash across the screen, and Anna rushed to turn the television down. "__**Guardian of Mar**__," a deep voice began, "__**Do you wish to return so soon**__?" _

_ "Guardian of Mar?" Anna echoed, "What are you talking about?" _

_ It took a minute for the voice to realize something. "__**You are not her**__," it pointed out, "__**But you are her friend.**__" _

_ "You mean Paige?" Anna asked in shock. _

_ "__**Yes.**__" _

_ "What the hell?" Paige's friend asked, floored. _

_ "__**Tell her that there will be more adventures in the future, and you shall become a part of them if you wish. There will be more trials for her.**__" _

_ "But how do you know her?" Anna questioned, but then a second later, she realized why Paige had been able to describe everything in vivid detail. Although she didn't believe it, it was the only possibility. _

Was she…sucked into the game somehow? _She asked herself, _Yeah, I think that's what it was. I'll have to ask her.

_ "__**Be careful, young one,**__" the voice warned as Anna became more and more afraid, "__**For you may fall into a trap one day.**__" _

_ "What are you talking about?" Anna demanded, but the voice was gone and the game returned to normal. She found herself hyperventilating in order to calm down. She was confused. Paige? A Guardian of Mar? Who was Mar? _

_ "Oh yeah," she whispered to herself, "The founder of Haven City Paige was telling me about. But this is freaky. She couldn't have been sucked in. It's impossible." _

_ But the possibility of Anna joining Paige on another venture was something else entirely. If only she could get her friend to confess to everything, then she wouldn't feel like she was being left in the dark. _

_ And with that, Anna turned everything off and returned to her room, anxiously awaiting the next day, and the day after that._


End file.
